The Brave Dandyism of Anne Lister in “Gentleman Jack”
Before Anne Lister’s face appears on screen in the HBO series “Gentleman Jack,” the viewer sees her dressing. The opening credits of each episode contain scenes of Anne snapping buttons closed, hitching up her pants, tightening her corset and dropping a watch into her pocket. Then she pulls on her black gloves and puts on a black top hat, and she’s ready to face the world — and for Anne, that world is the early 1800s in West Yorkshire, England.
“Gentleman Jack” is based on Anne’s real diaries, and she is often described as the first modern lesbian; these diaries were originally written in code, but later decrypted to reveal her romantic and sexual experiences with other women. While the credits of the show hint at Anne’s persona and sexuality, there is little doubt left when actress Suranne Jones strides onscreen, completely inhabiting the singular character of Anne. She stands up perfectly straight, her elegant posture making her appear taller than she is, and she walks with purpose. Even when faced with stares or whispers, Anne’s personality is commanding, and she does not show fear in a time when very few people were openly queer.
Valerie Steele, a fashion historian and the director of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, introduced The Museum’s 2013 exhibit “A Queer History of Fashion: From the Closet to the Catwalk” by pointing out, “Fashion and style have been immensely important for the LGBTQ community for many years.” Before Anne’s lifetime, queer men and women used fashion to communicate, to find each other and to express themselves. Anne herself dresses in a dandyish fashion. Although often thought to be a style of gay men, dandyism is also an expression of queer women’s identity. Steele explains, “This sapphic subculture that developed in late 19th and early 20th century Europe was closely associated with dandyish menswear, and many lesbians adopted tailored suits, starched white collars, neckties, short hair, and other accessories like monocles and neckties.”
While women almost exclusively wore ornate dresses during Anne’s time (and for many decades afterward), Anne goes her own dandyish way, and this means she is set apart and often seen as different or “other.” She dresses in long dark-colored skirts and jackets paired with crisp white shirts buttoned up under vests in dark and muted tones, contrasting with the feminine fashions of the time. Her dapper “popped collar” look evokes a peacock; her collar fans out, bringing focus to her just as peacocks spread their feathers to attract mates. She often complements her outfits with a top hat or a stylish cane, making her dandyish identity more explicit.
Whether Anne’s defending the coal on her property or planning to invigorate her town’s economy with a hotel and casino, she exudes confidence, which is partially due to her clothing. Her dandyish outfits make her stand out from the crowd, and the fact that she generally doesn’t care what others think of her makes her compellingly attractive and uniquely powerful. The unscrupulous and homophobic men she must contend with are thrown off by both her style and her self-assuredness, while the women she meets are often dazzled by these same qualities.
Publicly, there is almost never a hint of décolletage showing on Anne. If she is revealing a bit more skin than usual, it often represents emotional vulnerability. When she is rereading her diary entries about a past heartbreak, her collar is loosened; we can see a bit more of her and how she’s feeling. Beneath her dandyish garb, she can still be as fragile as anyone else. Similarly, in scenes where she’s being comforted by her aunt or being intimate with her female lovers, Anne’s body is revealed — but it’s almost never revealed as fully as her partners’ bodies are. While Anne wears mannish nightshirts to bed, the women she seduces often wear stylish nightgowns — or nothing at all. (This combination brings to mind a topsy-turvy mirror image of a heteronormative image repeated again and again in pop culture: a man and woman in bed with a conveniently shaped sheet that leaves the men’s chest bare while covering up the woman’s breasts.)
Anne attends the wedding of Mariana, a former flame, in the first season. (This flame is very much reignited in the second season.) The contrast between Anne’s style and the feminine styles of the times, as well as Anne’s revelation of her emotional state via her dress, are both showcased. Mariana notices that Anne has gone against tradition and worn black to the wedding. Anne tells her that she wore black to her previous girlfriend’s wedding as well. This nod to her queer identity (and the heartbreak at losing her lovers to a heterosexual lifestyle) shows just how brave Anne is. She knows that others may judge her for her style, but she always wants to be her most authentic self, even when that self is an ex-girlfriend in mourning black.
Although historical evidence suggests “Gentleman Jack” was actually a derogatory nickname, Anne seems largely unbothered by the fact she’s seen as “other.” However, it is painful for her when she is unable to find someone who accepts her for who she is. Mariana cruelly asks her, “Do you know what miseries, what agonies I used to go through being seen with you, the way you used to look, the way you used to dress?” Mariana’s question reminds viewers that despite how attractive Anne makes it look, being a noticeably queer woman dressed in dandyish attire is not easy — or safe.
As Anne herself later explains to her future wife Ann Walker:
“Every day, I rise above it, the things people say. I walk into a room or down a street, and I see the way people look at me, and the things they say, and I rise above it because I’ve trained myself not to see or hear it until it’s become second nature to me, and I forget just how impossible it is for someone else to accept that.”
During this tearful conversation, Anne’s hair isn’t pulled back in its standard coiffure; it’s loose and tangled around her shoulders. She’s letting her hair down both literally and metaphorically for the heartbreaking revelation she makes to her lover. She also acknowledges her awareness of the way people treat her as an outsider or “other” her because of her out-of-the-norm fashion and demeanor.
In the scenes Anne Lister shares with Ann Walker, the contrast between Anne Lister’s more masculine and dandyish appearance and Ann Walker’s more feminine appearance is seen most explicitly. Anne Lister stays close to an all-black wardrobe, occasionally throwing in some gray or dark blue. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Ann Walker wears a whole rainbow of pastels: She’s usually decked out in light pink, light blue and light purple. Her dresses have puffed sleeves and are often off the shoulder, a much more revealing and femme look than Anne Lister’s white shirt, vest and jacket combination. Although the two women face many ups and downs in their relationship, Ann Walker loves Anne Lister just the way she is and proudly stands beside her uniquely stylish lover.
In both history and its interpretation in “Gentleman Jack,” Anne Lister is always true to herself. She could have camouflaged her lifestyle with a more stereotypically feminine way of dressing, but instead, she chose to be herself during a time when being queer was largely not discussed, tolerated or accepted. Anne’s individualism and commitment to dandyism marks her as not only the first modern lesbian, but one of our most impactful queer icons. Both modern dandies and people like Ann Walker, who admire and love them, can see themselves in these two characters, and be reminded that their uncommon style makes them part of a strong queer history.
