Crossdressing in the 17th century
What?
Guided tour and lecture in the Mauritshuis
My roll?
Creator en tour guide
When?
2021-2022
For International Women’s Day, the Mauritshuis sought an intersectional activity. That’s when I came up with the theme of crossdressing: dressing up as a different gender than your own, or playing with gender expression through clothes, make-up, and accessories. This is a very well-documented phenomenon throughout history, yet still unbeknownst to many.
Several paintings in the Mauritshuis depict a variety of women’s societal roles: mother, sex worker, laborer, lady of the court… These artworks tell many stories when you look at them in different ways. Together with visitors, I began to look at the works through new lenses. For example, through religion, biology, or lust. There are also works which have been linked to tales of women in men’s clothing.
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What if you can't (or don't want to) live up to the ideal?
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Space for different perspectives
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Historical figures looked at through a different lens
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Can you support yourself financially?
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Social shifts and the role of women
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Livelihood and sex work.
‘A museum’s purpose is not just to amuse or inspire, but to provide space for discussions.’
Based on these works, I created an interactive guided tour. Participants could express their opinion, openly recognize themselves in the stories, or ask questions. We spoke about general women’s history, including gender roles. What if people didn’t want to conform to them? This resonated a lot with participants, which led to the sharing of intimate and personal stories. The result was room for empowerment, openness, and new perspectives.
A museum’s purpose is not just to amuse or inspire, but to provide space for discussions. As long as these remain safe for the participants, a difference of opinion is fine.
I have now trained my colleagues in giving this guided tour, and it has been added as a standard Mauritshuis tour. It has even grown into a masterclass at the Reinwardt Academy, a pub lecture at the Humanistic Alliance, and a tour for the Diversity & Inclusion team of the Dutch military.