Mock Weddings
'Mock Wedding' in Somer Township
On the back of these photographs, the event is described as a mock wedding between Anastasia Conerty (left, in suit) and Fanny Goss (right, in gown) in September 1931. The photos are in the Carley Friendship Club records from Somer Township in Champaign County. Anastasia and Fanny were both active members of the Club and closely tied to the Carley Chapel Methodist Church. Founded in 1924, the Carley Friendship Club met monthly for social engagements, education, and charity work.
On a national scale, mock weddings were popular ceremonies specifically during the 19th and early 20th centuries, during which people would dress in formal clothing and often cross-dress to fulfill the role of the bride, the groom, the priest, or just a bystander. The ceremonies were a popular annual tradition at many women's colleges during this time. From Wellesley College in Massachusetts, to Faulk County in South Dakota, to Somer Township in Illinois, mock wedding ceremonies were ways for the communities to get together, dress in special clothing, and engage in festivities.
It is not known what type of relationship Anastasia and Fanny had - whether this event was a theatre performance, if this is a private, romantic ceremony between them, or something in between. It was not legally permitted for two women to become married, and same-sex relationships were not talked about openly in public society. These photographs of Anastasia and Fanny's ceremony provide a peek into early 20th century cross-dressing and gender non-conformity in Champaign County.
To read more about mock weddings:
"Folk Drama on the Great Plains: The Mock Wedding in Canada and the United States" by Michael Taft