“No Mining Engineer Could Be a Lady”: A Historical Case Study of Drag and Humor in Technical Writing, 1911–1917
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2026
Abstract
The first yearbook of the Michigan College of Mines (1915–1916) included a feature about the short-lived student drama club, the “Micomi Club” (1911–1914). It was ending because male students could no longer play female characters: “no mining engineer could be a lady.” Using historical case study methods, this article argues that the yearbook feature demonstrates, in content, worries about the destabilizing potential of drag performance and, in form, the uses of humor in technical writing.
Publication Title
Technical Communication Quarterly
Recommended Citation
Fiss, A.
(2026).
“No Mining Engineer Could Be a Lady”: A Historical Case Study of Drag and Humor in Technical Writing, 1911–1917.
Technical Communication Quarterly.
http://doi.org/10.1080/10572252.2026.2623667
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p2/2398