Women who had to or chose to dress as men to access male environments to follow their calling are often overlooked in history. Enter the book Let Me Be Frank: A book about women who dressed up as men to do the shit they were‘t It is supposed to do (HarperCollins, 2022), published last year by Tracy Dawson. Dawson is an award-winning actor, television writer, comedian and now author whose first book impressed Samantha Bee, Amber Tamblyn and Patton Oswalt.
Let me be Frank presents in-depth profiles of women across different eras, and of various ethnicities, races, sexualities and cultural backgrounds, who challenged the patriarchy and decided to play by their own rules. These women often broke social structures when the cards were stacked against them. Many were laughed at, rejected, or endured other forms of prejudice. Dawson brings them where they deserve to be, using sardonic, passionate and respectful writing to tell their stories.
The women inside Let me be Frank he competed in marathons, published books, escaped slavery, practiced medicine, went deep into the earth as a miner, boarded ships as a pirate, and served in the front lines of the army. These are just some of their groundbreaking acts that would sometimes change the landscape for generations to come.
We may already recognize some of these women, like Joan of Arc, but their stories are told in a fresh, new way. There are also some we may never have heard of, such as Jeanne Baret, Rena “Rusty” Kanokogi, Pili Hussein, and others whose stories Dawson tells.
Scarleteen (ST): What inspired you to write ‘Let me be Frank‘?
Tracy Dawson (TD): About a decade ago, when I was starting out as a television writer here in Los Angeles, I had a meeting at a very large studio during what was called the “staff era.” Executives meet with new writers and the hope is that you end up getting hired as a writer on one of their new or existing shows. At this meeting, the executive asked me which of their new shows seemed like a good fit for me. When I responded, she was adamant that none of the shows I had mentioned had “female needs,” meaning that there were writing jobs available on those shows but not for women because they had already hired the right number of women. for that show.
Generally speaking, this would mean that they hired one or two women for every ten writers and the quota was met. I felt ashamed, I felt stupid, I felt angry. They told me that it didn’t matter if I suited the job, if I wrote great jokes and dialogue. What mattered was that I was a Woman Writer, not just… a writer.
So that kind of planted a seed all those years ago that stuck with me. And I started thinking about all the women in history who might have taken on a male disguise, just to do what they wanted to do with their lives. To be clear, my book is not a book that necessarily focuses on gender identity stories. It really is a book for provocative women. Women who would be told no, you can’t do this or be that and won’t take no for an answer.
Scarleteen (ST): In your book you tell the stories of many women who had to dress as men in order to reach their potential. Which story touched you the most?
Tracy Dawson (TD): I was deeply moved by many of the stories, as you will be able to tell when you read the book. I don’t write about these women [while] keeping them at arm’s length. I’m really invested in their stories and their defiance. I’m an Aries, which means I’m ruled by the planet Mars, the God of War…so, I tend to always be up for a fight, you know? You tell me I can’t do something. you better watch out.
I sure love all the women in my book and that they refused to be told no!
One of the people who moved me the most, though, was Dorothy Lawrence. Dorothy was a teenager in England. She wanted to be a journalist and during the First World War she traveled alone, just her and her bicycle, on a ship to France, hoping to get to the front line so she could report on the war. With the help of some fellow British soldiers, she ended up disguised as a soldier and actually made it to the front and was there for about ten days before being discovered and captured by her own people. They were completely confused by her and her motives. They weren’t sure if he was a spy or a sex worker! Well, she was neither, she was a woman who dreamed of becoming a journalist and who was trying to find a big scoop to help her make a name for herself as a reporter. She told them all this over and over again, but the female ambitions of this kind and the bold nature of what she was doing… well, barely one of these men could even fathom it. I absolutely loved reading Dorothy’s story of her adventure in France (you can read her book online for free at google books: “Sapper Dorothy Lawrence”), is funny and self-deprecating and tells a great story. The very unfortunate part, for me, is that Dorothy’s book was not a success. She was mocked in the press, painted as a failure and called a freak. Her story is so inspiring to me and me, Dorothy is a success the moment she boards the ship to England on her bicycle. She tried! Follow what he wanted! I love her and she deserved so much better.
Scarleteen (ST): Given the times we live in—particularly the precarious state of women’s and LGBTQIA+ rights—why do you think so‘It is so important to see the people that are presented Let me be Frank?
Tracy Dawson (TD): Well, like many of us, I can’t believe we’re still fighting for some of this shit. [For] basic human rights. The right to exist. The right to have autonomy over our body. What I’ve heard from readers is how they run the gamut of emotions as they read the book.
One minute they are inspired and outraged, the next they are laughing and then another moment they are furious. They are furious because of the injustices experienced by the women in my book, but they also feel how, in some cases, how little has changed.
My book is not a shallow skim over the lives of these women. I committed to researching each of these women in depth and my ridiculously large bibliography is proof! This was important to me because I want people to delve into the lives of these women with me. I want people to be moved by their stories and relate to what they experienced, how they fought and how they triumphed. I say in the introduction to the book that women and all those who have historically been corrupted, knock us down (A LOT!) but we always get back up. We always get up!
This is a critical moment we’re in, where women’s rights are at an impasse and trans people are fighting for their literal right to exist. Our lives, our freedom and our value are minimized where so many seek to control us. At the same time, we see the lives and livelihoods of our trans brothers and sisters threatened to the point where this is nothing short of an emergency. What I intend to do with my writing is tell the truth and do it with humor. I tell stories of resilience and heroism and stories that were left off the page. I try to do all this while making you laugh because we all need kindness as we continue to fight for our rights to exist and be free! I hope this book inspires [that].
