The Convent of Pleasure and White Chicks: Are Men Doing Too Much?

 Margaret Cavendish - The Convent of Pleasure

"Facil: But nothing is difficult to Willing-minds.

Adviser: My min is willing; but my Reason tells me, It is impossible; wherefore, I'le never go about it. 

Take Pleasure: Faith, let us resolve to put our selves in Womens apparel, and so by that means get into the Convent. 

Adviser: We shall be discover'd.

Take Pleasure: Who will discover Us?

Adviser: We shall discover our Selves. 

Take Pleasure: We are not such fools as to betray our Selves." (Cavendish, 108)


White Chicks (2004)

White Chicks Scene


I chose this specific scene in White Chicks because I could not stop thinking about this movie while reading this scene. While in The Convent of Pleasure and White Chicks men are dressing as women for different reasons, they all are doing it for personal gain. I couldn't help but wonder why this is an ongoing trope across literature and film. From reading this play combined with my knowledge of Shakespeare plays, it seems as though this trope of men crossdressing as women for laughs dates back pretty far. This is a discussion that I would love to dive into during class time, as I feel there are a lot of good comments that can be made about this particular topic. The first questions I would ask would be: are men doing too much? At what point does this stop being funny and become overused? Will it ever not be funny? 

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