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Tipping the Velvet

 Tipping the Velvet
type
TVTItem
 Tipping the Velvet
label
Tipping the Velvet
 Tipping the Velvet
page
TippingTheVelvet
 Tipping the Velvet
comment
Since birth, Nancy Astley has only ever known the life of an oyster-girl. From sunup to sunset, she helps her family shuck oysters, prepare dishes, and serve the people of Whitstable. Whenever she needs a break, she and her sister take a train to a theater where they can be entertained by all sorts of acts. One fateful year, a masher (male impersonator) by the name of Kitty Butler takes the stage, her voice and charisma enthralling the crowd, and Nancy most of all. Before she knows it, she's fallen deeply in love with Kitty.Nancy has to keep her newly discovered passion to herself, proven when her sister begins to treat her coldly after Nancy tells her about how Kitty makes her feel. Things get even harder when Kitty takes notice of Nancy's frequent visits to the theater, inviting her to her dressing room one night. They soon form a close-knit bond that Nancy initially mistakes for friendly affection on Kitty's part. However, their time together soon reveals that Kitty loves her just as much as she loves Kitty.Before she knows it, Nancy is swept up into theater life, soon becoming a masher herself. Unfortunately, their relationship will be put to the test, and Nancy's new life may come crashing down around her before she can stop it.Tipping the Velvet is a 1998 historical romance novel by Sarah Waters. The book was adapted into a three-part serial in 2002 for The BBC, and a stage play in 2015.Tropes shared by the novel and the series can be listed below. Tropes specific to just the series should go on the series' page.
 Tipping the Velvet
fetched
2023-05-26T21:28:14Z
 Tipping the Velvet
parsed
2023-05-26T21:28:14Z
 Tipping the Velvet
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Tipping the Velvet / int_14c04cad
type
Butch Lesbian
 Tipping the Velvet / int_14c04cad
comment
Butch Lesbian: There a number of lesbians who seem to prefer men's clothing and masculine mannerisms. Nancy also gets a bit more butch over the course of the story once she realizes she vastly prefers presenting as male to wearing typical feminine clothing.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_14c04cad
featureApplicability
1.0
 Tipping the Velvet / int_14c04cad
featureConfidence
1.0
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Tipping the Velvet / int_14c04cad
 Tipping the Velvet / int_28f852ea
type
Wholesome Crossdresser
 Tipping the Velvet / int_28f852ea
comment
Wholesome Crossdresser: Nancy finds that she's more comfortable in men's clothing even when offstage as this saves her from harassment by men, and thus starts dressing like that most of the time. None of the people who know about this habit give her grief over it, some of them even helping her out by buying her male clothing outright.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_28f852ea
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 Tipping the Velvet / int_28f852ea
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 Tipping the Velvet
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Tipping the Velvet / int_28f852ea
 Tipping the Velvet / int_312b02ac
type
Lipstick Lesbian
 Tipping the Velvet / int_312b02ac
comment
Lipstick Lesbian: Kitty may dress up as a boy for the stage, but is conventionally feminine outside the theater. Mrs. Lethaby, Zena and Florence could also qualify. There are also a number of minor lesbian characters who are more typically feminine.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_312b02ac
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 Tipping the Velvet / int_312b02ac
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Tipping the Velvet / int_312b02ac
 Tipping the Velvet / int_362461f6
type
Sex Slave
 Tipping the Velvet / int_362461f6
comment
Sex Slave: Nancy is essentially a live-in sex slave for Diana.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_362461f6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Tipping the Velvet / int_362461f6
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1.0
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Tipping the Velvet / int_362461f6
 Tipping the Velvet / int_48aac61d
type
Chummy Commies
 Tipping the Velvet / int_48aac61d
comment
Chummy Commies: Florence and Ralph are both committed socialists and easily the nicest people in the story.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_48aac61d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Tipping the Velvet / int_48aac61d
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1.0
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Tipping the Velvet / int_48aac61d
 Tipping the Velvet / int_53ea03ee
type
Last Girl Wins
 Tipping the Velvet / int_53ea03ee
comment
Last Girl Wins: Florence is the one Nancy ends up with in the end. Nancy actually met her in the middle of the story and then forgot about her when Diana came along, but she didn't get to know Florence until after leaving Diana.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_53ea03ee
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1.0
 Tipping the Velvet / int_53ea03ee
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 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Tipping the Velvet / int_53ea03ee
 Tipping the Velvet / int_5c0902e7
type
Boyish Short Hair
 Tipping the Velvet / int_5c0902e7
comment
Boyish Short Hair: Kitty has hers cut short to perform in her masher act, with Nancy later doing the same when she joins her. They also become lovers as well, with this echoing Nancy's self-realization that she's a lesbian.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_5c0902e7
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Tipping the Velvet / int_5c0902e7
 Tipping the Velvet / int_69c5fb9e
type
Recursive Crossdressing
 Tipping the Velvet / int_69c5fb9e
comment
Recursive Crossdressing: When Nancy first tries on a male costume, Kitty and Walter both realize that she looks too much like a man: part of the appeal of male impersonators is seeing a woman play at being a man, so being too convincing will just make the audience confused. To fix this, Nancy's masher costume gets trimmed with lace and ribbons in order to better clue in the audience that she's a woman playing the role of a man.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_69c5fb9e
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 Tipping the Velvet
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Tipping the Velvet / int_69c5fb9e
 Tipping the Velvet / int_6cb1745e
type
Streetwalker
 Tipping the Velvet / int_6cb1745e
comment
Streetwalker: For a period of time, Nancy works as a prostitute, servicing gay men while dressed up as a man. She conducts all of her business on the streets, as she can only give out hand- and blowjobs.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_6cb1745e
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1.0
 Tipping the Velvet / int_6cb1745e
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 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Tipping the Velvet / int_6cb1745e
 Tipping the Velvet / int_6f19054d
type
Coming-Out Story
 Tipping the Velvet / int_6f19054d
comment
Coming-Out Story: Nancy realizes she's a lesbian upon meeting Kitty, who becomes her lover, and she later tells her younger sister. However, her sister is repelled by Nancy's feelings, giving her the cold shoulder from then on.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_6f19054d
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 Tipping the Velvet / int_6f19054d
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 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Tipping the Velvet / int_6f19054d
 Tipping the Velvet / int_734c5ed2
type
Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple
 Tipping the Velvet / int_734c5ed2
comment
Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple: A lot of the lesbian couples depicted are working-class butch women who are in men's clothing beside aristocratic rich feminine lesbians wearing typical high society fair expected for a woman: dresses, hats, gloves, etc.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_734c5ed2
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1.0
 Tipping the Velvet / int_734c5ed2
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1.0
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Tipping the Velvet / int_734c5ed2
 Tipping the Velvet / int_7b7182fe
type
Closet Key
 Tipping the Velvet / int_7b7182fe
comment
Closet Key: Nancy didn't know she was a lesbian before she met Kitty.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_7b7182fe
featureApplicability
1.0
 Tipping the Velvet / int_7b7182fe
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 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Tipping the Velvet / int_7b7182fe
 Tipping the Velvet / int_95d67d24
type
Get Thee to a Nunnery
 Tipping the Velvet / int_95d67d24
comment
Get Thee to a Nunnery: "Tipping the velvet" sounds like theatrical lingo, fitting for a story that has a focus on the stage. Historically, it meant cunnilingus.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_95d67d24
featureApplicability
1.0
 Tipping the Velvet / int_95d67d24
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 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Tipping the Velvet / int_95d67d24
 Tipping the Velvet / int_96144372
type
Aristocrats Are Evil
 Tipping the Velvet / int_96144372
comment
Aristocrats Are Evil: Diana Lethaby and her decadent friends cruelly exploit lesbians younger and poorer than themselves for sex.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_96144372
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1.0
 Tipping the Velvet / int_96144372
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1.0
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Tipping the Velvet / int_96144372
 Tipping the Velvet / int_98ba5dfe
type
Unproblematic Prostitution
 Tipping the Velvet / int_98ba5dfe
comment
Unproblematic Prostitution: The biggest concern Nancy has when she's out on the streets is her clients finding out that she's a woman. She's actively choosy about her clients, avoiding anyone obviously drunk or aggressive, and the thought of catching any diseases never crosses her mind. Once she starts living with Diana, even those concerns become nonexistent.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_98ba5dfe
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1.0
 Tipping the Velvet / int_98ba5dfe
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1.0
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Tipping the Velvet / int_98ba5dfe
 Tipping the Velvet / int_9f2ca67b
type
Gaydar
 Tipping the Velvet / int_9f2ca67b
comment
Gaydar: Nancy seems to sense- or at least hope- that Florence is a lesbian like her. At first she thinks she's mistaken as Florence seems to be married with a child. It turns out that the man she first saw is Florence's brother, while the child is one they adopted. Later, it's confirmed that Florence really is a lesbian, and the two get involved.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_9f2ca67b
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 Tipping the Velvet / int_9f2ca67b
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hasFeature
Tipping the Velvet / int_9f2ca67b
 Tipping the Velvet / int_a8217606
type
Sweet Polly Oliver
 Tipping the Velvet / int_a8217606
comment
Sweet Polly Oliver: After leaving the stage, Nancy first dons a male outfit to avoid street harassment from men. When she becomes strapped for cash, she's pondering how to get more when she's hit on by gay man. Due to her work as a male impersonator, Nancy is an expert at making others mistake her for a man and thankfully this particular gay man only wants a handie. This makes Nancy realize that working as a prostitute for gay man will be an efficient way to earn money.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_a8217606
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1.0
 Tipping the Velvet / int_a8217606
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 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Tipping the Velvet / int_a8217606
 Tipping the Velvet / int_aa6043ca
type
Open-Minded Parent
 Tipping the Velvet / int_aa6043ca
comment
Open-Minded Parent: Nancy's parents are rather accepting of their daughters decision to leave Whitstable and pursue a career in theater. Nancy's father points out that she's old enough to choose her own path in life and, while he may not fully agree with this choice, he'll support her either way. He only asks that she not forget her family or hometown.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_aa6043ca
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 Tipping the Velvet / int_aa6043ca
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 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Tipping the Velvet / int_aa6043ca
 Tipping the Velvet / int_b59e09cd
type
Bifauxnen
 Tipping the Velvet / int_b59e09cd
comment
Bifauxnen: Nancy can easily pass for a pretty young man, so much so that her first proper costume as Rackity Jack had to be altered so she'd be less convincing.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_b59e09cd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Tipping the Velvet / int_b59e09cd
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 Tipping the Velvet
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Tipping the Velvet / int_b59e09cd
 Tipping the Velvet / int_bb18a227
type
It's All About Me
 Tipping the Velvet / int_bb18a227
comment
It's All About Me: Nancy puts a lot of her own needs and wants first before others. When she reunites with Florence and gets roped into helping out the poor, Nancy admits in her narration that she doesn't give one iota about the needy.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_bb18a227
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1.0
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Tipping the Velvet / int_bb18a227
 Tipping the Velvet / int_c313d43a
type
True Companions
 Tipping the Velvet / int_c313d43a
comment
True Companions: Nancy eventually creates a family for herself with Florence, Ralph, and baby Cyril. There's even a scene where the adult members speculate as to who would be in their personal heavens with them, and each one lists all the others.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_c313d43a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Tipping the Velvet / int_c313d43a
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 Tipping the Velvet
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Tipping the Velvet / int_c313d43a
 Tipping the Velvet / int_c8e375d3
type
Lover and Beloved
 Tipping the Velvet / int_c8e375d3
comment
Lover and Beloved: A number of the rich lesbians in Mrs. Lethaby's circle have partners much younger than them who are kept women. Nancy is Diana's Beloved ostensibly, though she's more essentially a sex slave.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_c8e375d3
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 Tipping the Velvet / int_c8e375d3
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Tipping the Velvet / int_c8e375d3
 Tipping the Velvet / int_d29a6629
type
Death by Childbirth
 Tipping the Velvet / int_d29a6629
comment
Death by Childbirth: Little Cyril's mother died giving birth to him. As a result, Ralph and Florence adopted him.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_d29a6629
featureApplicability
1.0
 Tipping the Velvet / int_d29a6629
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 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Tipping the Velvet / int_d29a6629
 Tipping the Velvet / int_d32cd9f5
type
Cast Full of Gay
 Tipping the Velvet / int_d32cd9f5
comment
Cast Full of Gay: The main character and most of the supporting characters are lesbians and there are several minor characters who are gay.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_d32cd9f5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Tipping the Velvet / int_d32cd9f5
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 Tipping the Velvet
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Tipping the Velvet / int_d32cd9f5
 Tipping the Velvet / int_f64a9cf7
type
Earn Your Happy Ending
 Tipping the Velvet / int_f64a9cf7
comment
Earn Your Happy Ending: Nancy makes her peace with her past and seems to be happy after going through great hardships, but she does not get back together with Kitty nor find fame and fortune. However, she finds a new love in Florence and new purpose through helping Florence in her political activism.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_f64a9cf7
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Tipping the Velvet / int_f64a9cf7
 Tipping the Velvet / int_f933e594
type
How the Mighty Have Fallen
 Tipping the Velvet / int_f933e594
comment
How the Mighty Have Fallen: Soon after Nancy joins Kitty's act as Nan King, the shear novelty of a masher pair helps launch the two of them into stardom. At the same time, Kitty and Nancy have confessed their love for one other and become a couple. However, they need to keep their relationship under wraps or else they'll be ridiculed and laughed out of showbiz, something that Kitty is very paranoid about. When an audience member calls them a homophobic slur, it shakes up Kitty's confidence so badly that she calls off that night's show. This leads Kitty to starting an affair with Walter. Nancy is devastated when she catches them in bed together, leaving both Kitty and the stage. Her heartbreak quickly morphs into a depression in which Nancy isolates herself from everyone. It isn't long before "Nan King" becomes forgotten by the public, made swifter after Kitty and Walter start performing together.
 Tipping the Velvet / int_f933e594
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Tipping the Velvet / int_f933e594
 Tipping the Velvet / int_fa6bfde9
type
Have a Gay Old Time
 Tipping the Velvet / int_fa6bfde9
comment
Have a Gay Old Time: The language is consistent with the time period the story is set in. This means that "gay" is routinely used to mean "happy" and "queer" is routinely used to mean "strange."
 Tipping the Velvet / int_fa6bfde9
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Tipping the Velvet / int_fa6bfde9
 Tipping the Velvet / int_name
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ItemName
 Tipping the Velvet / int_name
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 Tipping the Velvet / int_name
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Tipping the Velvet / int_name
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Tipping the Velvet

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Bifauxnen / int_b6ef60b9
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Cast Full of Gay / int_b6ef60b9
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Closet Key / int_b6ef60b9
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Erotic Eating / int_b6ef60b9
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Fetish Retardant / int_b6ef60b9
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Gayngst / int_b6ef60b9
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
I Call Him "Mister Happy" / int_b6ef60b9
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Queer Romance / int_b6ef60b9
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Recursive Crossdressing / int_b6ef60b9
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Time-Passes Montage / int_b6ef60b9
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Victorian London / int_b6ef60b9
 Tipping the Velvet
hasFeature
Lipstick Lesbian / int_b6ef60b9