''She-Man'' is a 1967 American film directed by

Bob Clark Benjamin Robert Clark (August 5, 1939 – April 4, 2007) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He is best known for his work in the Canadian film industry throughout the 1970s and 1980s, where he was responsible ...

and starring Leslie Marlowe. In this film, a former soldier becomes a

cross-dresser Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has play ...

Plot

The film opens with a

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

presenting the film as an account from the files of a research project, presented in story form. The psychologist emphasizes that the "type of individual" presented is factual, and an accurate account of a type of " deviation", encourages the audience to broaden their minds and sympathize with this type of person. Albert Rose is introduced as a normal American man who is wealthy, athletic, handsome, and popular with women. One day Albert receives a mysterious letter, and quickly goes to a predetermined location in a motel. In the motel room, he is played recordings of statements that Albert deserted under fire during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. He is also played a recording of him talking with a

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

. Albert is revealed to have paid a large sum of money to have a fellow soldier blamed for desertion instead. The speaker is revealed to be a mysterious woman named Dominita, who wants to force Albert to become her servant for one year, and pay her a sum of $20,000. Albert reluctantly accepts, pays Dominita the money, and accompanies her to her estate. Albert is given four white

estrogen Estrogen or oestrogen is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three major endogenous estrogens that have estrogenic hormonal acti ...

pills each daily, and Dominita's assistant Ruth instructs Albert on becoming Dominita's

maid A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids ...

. At first Albert protests, saying that he won't be turned into any "

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

". But he then gradually accepts, shaving his entire body, having his eyebrows plucked, and wearing makeup, a wig,

breast forms Breast prostheses are breast forms intended to look like breasts. They are often used temporarily or permanently by women after mastectomy or lumpectomy procedures, but may also be used by for aesthetic purposes. There are a number of materials an ...

, and a

French maid ''French maid'' was a term applied in the Victorian and early 20th century periods to a lady's maid of French nationality. A lady's maid was a senior servant who reported directly to the lady of the house, and accompanied her mistress on t ...

outfit. Albert insists that he will not take any more pills, but Ruth assures him that it is only a game. Albert begins working for Dominita as a maid, using feminine pronouns, and using the name Rose Albert. When Albert begins to serve Dominita, she criticizes him and strikes him with a

riding crop Riding is a homonym of two distinct English words: From the word ride * In equestrianism, riding a horse * Riding animal, animal bred or trained for riding * Riding hall, building designed for indoor horse riding From Old English ''*þriðing'' ...

. After Albert leaves, Dominita tells Ruth that Albert "wanted" the punishment, and "needs to be dominated", but it took a traumatic situation to bring that out. Albert and Ruth begin a romance, and Albert begins talking about a future together, in which he can continue to cross-dress in private, but lives as a man otherwise. Ruth reveals that she may not be attracted to Albert as a man, and she tells him about her upbringing, and how life events resulted in her becoming a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

. Albert tries to convince Ruth that he still has a "passive" and "feminine" side. Albert continues to serve as Dominita's maid. While serving her a drink, Albert sees a scar on Dominita's leg. He finds a camera and secretly takes a photo of the scar, and has Ruth develop the photo, and to have copies made. Albert arranges for the staff of the house to meet the next morning. When Dominita finds the staff members gathered in one room, she becomes angry, and strikes a staff member with her riding crop. Albert confronts Dominita and pulls her wig off, revealing that she was Dominique Festro, a soldier who deserted in Korea, and who was shot in the leg by Albert. The staff members subdue Festro. The psychologist appears again at his desk to give a summary and states that Albert is a "transvestite" who enjoys cross-dressing, with no change to his sexual orientation or to his emotions. Albert is contrasted with Dominita, who also desired power and superiority. The psychologist gives a disclaimer that the riding crop used was not about

sadism Sadism may refer to: * Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation * Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the s ...

, but merely a symbol of power and authority. The psychologist states that

transvestism Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western c ...

is considered a "

perversion Perversion is a form of human behavior which deviates from what is considered to be orthodox or normal. Although the term ''perversion'' can refer to a variety of forms of deviation, it is most often used to describe sexual behaviors that are con ...

" punishable by law. He says that it is ridiculous for transvestism to be illegal, because many world leaders and religious officials wear robes and tunics similar to women's clothing, and many women wear clothing such as shorts, slacks, and jackets. He pleas for acceptance and understanding of transvestism.

Cast

The cast members are as follows: * Leslie Marlowe as Albert Rose * Wendy Roberts as Ruth * Dorian Wayne as Dominita * Crystal Hans * Diane O'Donnell * Jeff Gillen * Winnie Melton * Norman Chant * Virginia Jasper * Marilyn Denham Leslie Marlowe, who played Albert Rose, was a well-known female impersonator, or professional drag queen. He did drag performances throughout the country, including at well-known venues in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Production

''She-Man'' was filmed in

Lehigh Acres Lehigh Acres is an unincorporated area and Municipal District in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 Census the population was 135,272. Lehigh Acres is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lehi ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, with a funeral parlor and a greenhouse providing the main sets. Locals played most of the roles, with the exception of the cross-dressers, who were professional female impersonators.

Reception

In a review of ''She-Man'' in an issue of ''LadyLike'' magazine from 1995, the reviewer considered ''She-Man'' to be a "must see" for those who enjoy cross-dressing and cross-dressing themes in film. The review characterized the film plot as typical for cross-dressing fantasy: An encyclopedia of gay and lesbian films described ''She-Man'' as "hilariously bad in all respects".

''Queens at Heart''

The Southeastern Pictures Corporation initially released the exploitation documentary film ''

Queens at Heart ''Queens at Heart'' is an American short film described as both a documentary and an exploitation film in which four trans women are interviewed about their lives. It was produced in the mid-1960s. The film was digitally preserved in 2009 by th ...

'' in 1967 along with ''She-Man''. This short documentary film provides a rare look at four

trans women A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...

in New York City, prior to the

Stonewall riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of Ju ...

References

External links

* * {{Bob Clark 1967 films Films directed by Bob Clark 1967 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films Transgender-related films 1967 LGBT-related films 1967 directorial debut films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films English-language comedy-drama films American LGBT-related films