Gender policing has always been used to shame and violate gender non-conforming people:

‘This fat cop comes out of nowhere. He's swinging a bat in his hand. Right in front of me he stands and says, "Do you have three articles of men's clothing on you?" ... "Don't you know there's a law against masquerading?"
….

'He thought I was a guy dressed like a woman. He says he's taking me in. "I'm a girl," I tell him. "I'm a girl!" But he doesn't believe me. "I swear I'm a girl!" I keep saying, and finally he says, "Okay, I'm callin' a police matron, but if you're tryin' to make a fool of me, I'll see to it they throw away the key." That SOB made me stand up against the wall until this broad arrives, and she takes me to the ladies' room, makes me open my blouse and take down my under-pants... feels me up everywhere. Oh, Lil!'’

From ‘Naked in the Promised Land: a Memoir’ by Lillian Faderman (2003). Incident in the 1950s.

#lgbtq #gender #lillianfaderman #gendernonconforming #genderpolice