As a child watching all those Bugs Bunny cartoons, I never realized how many times the wascaly wabbit wore women’s wardrobes. I just thought of it as funny and never thought of the possibly deeper meaning in what he was doing. I never even questioned all the times that he kissed men full on the lips. I guess I wasn’t put in any emotional turmoil because Bugs always went nuts and acted typically male when ever he saw a babe in a bathing suit and usually ended up with a face full of kisses. Recently after a full day of a Bugs Bunny cartoon marathon on cable and as an adult I now feel obligated to analyze those deeper meanings behind his actions. So, since we all know that Bugs had healthy hormones when it came to women, we can assume that he was heterosexual and he never flirted with men unless it was to avoid getting shot at, which to me was more of a defense move than a preference. One time he did go through a mock wedding with Elmer Fudd, but it was meant to completely throw Elmer off track and not as a statement that Bugs had a desire to be Elmer’s better half. So examining his sexual orientation, we can safely assume that Bugs was a healthy heterosexual he-man hare.

Now it seemed that Bugs frequently doned women’s clothing to elude his predators, but was this necessary? Many other cartoon characters found other ways to evade capture such as putting a lamp shade on their head and standing still or slamming a door in their stalker’s face. Bugs chose to put on women’s clothing and beguile his aggressor, putting them off until they saw through his ruse. He seemed to actually enjoy going through the arduous task of a complete makeover in a matter of seconds to foil the villain. But why go through all this trouble, as we know it is, when a fast hole dug in the ground would have stopped a truck. Simple, Bugs was a closet crossdresser and used cartoons as a vehicle to show off.

It is well known that comedians have used comedy to bring out their pain or deep emotions and have let it out through their satirical actions. This points up to the fact that since Bugs had so many different alternatives at his disposal to prevent capture or worse, why the crossdressing? Because this is part of what he was and he fell into it when it was needed. Male rabbits have a heavy stigma put upon them as being sexually aggressive and this can be a burden to a sensitive crossdressing hare. As a male, Bugs was always running from someone, but when he assumed his female persona, he became the aggressor and protector of his male alter-ego. This is not conducive to the stereotype of aggressive male, passive female, which Bugs seemed to be skewing. The rational behind his actions was to distract the aggressive male chaser with a helpless, demure female which showed that he could feel at ease being feminine even in a tense situation.

Further proof that he was into crossdressing was the fact that he always had feminine clothing and make-up handy even during a speedy chase scene. This could only be possible because a male who was a crossdresser would have such an extensive wardrobe and accessories available at their immediate disposal. He probably wore the feminine clothing under his rabbit suit and had make-up tucked in his pockets. Some of the more exotic costumes were probably stored in various hiding places throughout the forest to be used when he wanted to relax dressed or for emergencies.

Bugs, as far as I have seen, at fifty years old was also single. This was probably a result of the realization that if married, he would have to explain his actions to his wife and the children, and for a rabbit that could be well into hundreds of children. It’s hard enough to reveal that you are a crossdresser to one child, let alone hundreds, so Bugs opted not to have to put himself through this extended grief by remaining single and true to himself only. A noble gesture but this can tend to make a rabbit frustrated by not having someone to share their passion with. Occasionally Bugs would slap a dress on Elmer, Yosemite Sam, or Porky in an attempt to stir up some companionship, but this usually met with their resistance.

In an attempt to come out of the rabbit hole, Bugs used the cartoon medium to show off his desire to dress. No one questioned the fact that he dressed because they were all too busy chasing him and the dressing was just a temporary distraction to them. He seemed to enjoy starting up a chase just so somewhere along the way he could transform and get a vicarious thrill in attempting to pass as a woman before his pursuer. This sad attempt will only result in a self-destructive nature that will end up with Bugs hitting the singles bars and finally to the street corners in an attempt to find a little action. The worse part is that he has no friends, only enemies, to share the turmoil as to his gender identity. Darn if I’m not starting to sound like Geraldo. Bugs was no different than Uncle Miltie when it came to comedy drag and did it all for the gag. Or did he? ThThThaat’s All Folks!

You were quite close!