Wenches Just Want to Have Fun

by Sir Stephan of Wada's Hill

After a day of fierce jousting and giant killing, a victorious knight strides into the local tavern and drops himself into a sturdy chair. "Ale!" he shouts toward the front of the tavern. Within moments, a busty, flirtatious woman saunters over and splashes a mug onto the table.

"Anything else, m'lord?" she asks, intentionally jiggling her scantily-clad bosoms for the hero.

Our good knight appraises the woman with a glance when his gaze lingers on the low cut of her bodice. "Aye, there is indeed," he says, winking.

Celena, Dorothy and Violetta play merchant wenches at southern California Faires, and they are all in their early thirties. Dorothy and Violeta have worked the faire for six years, while Celena has participated for three years. Dorothy and Violeta are both college educated, while Celena spent time in the U.S. Navy.

A warm and friendly woman, Celena likes to make people feel good, and reminds me that "wench" is an acronym meaning, "Women Entitled to Nights of Continual Happiness." At faire, she kisses male faire-goers or drags them into a "Faire-y ring" (a ring of wenches who demand to be kissed).

Although Celena thinks of herself as a real wench, she doesn't believe she's attractive enough to pull it off in real life. But when in costume at faire, she stands out. "I'm short, heavy, and I don't think all that exciting to look at. But that all changes when the garb goes on. Most guys don't see anything but the low-cut bodice and don't hear much but the Cockney accent."

Dorothy, has always enjoyed living history, and agrees that the bodice is a definite attribute in helping to get into character. "The real me is a bit of a flirt," she admits, "but not nearly as bad as when I'm in costume."During the week, she works as a court reporter so her behavior at faire would not be appropriate in her work environment. Roleplaying gives her a chance to relieve some of the stress that builds up during the work week.

Dorothy explains that a wench can get away with outrageous behavior because everyone knows it's all in fun."It's a chance to show off, flirt outrageously, and be bawdy. I love it!" she admits. Even Dorothy's boyfriend supports her acting. Although she flirts shamelessly all day long with men at faire, he knows that she will always go home with him.

It's not all a roll in the hay, however. A love of the time period drew Violeta to the faire and she sees being a wench as a class status, not as a title. With her real-world income level, she says she would have been a wench had she lived during the Renaissance. "But as my peronal finances improve, so will my class," she explains.

"When I'm at faire, I'm a different person. Different name, different lifestyle, different character type," says Violeta. She attributes the change from her ordinarily shy, reserved and analytical manner to the costume and the atmosphere of faire. "The faire is the perfect, safe venue to allow that side of my personality to be expressed," Violeta asserts.

Violeta is unattached at the moment. She has found that romantic relationships that work well at faire seldom have the same heart outside that realm. However, she knows that any man she becomes serious with must also be a rennie because "...there has to be the emotional outlet at faire."

The Psychology of Roleplaying
Dr. Estelle Toby Goldstein, MD, a psychiatrist at Brain Research, Inc. of Oklahoma City, OK, says that through roleplaying, each person gets to be the person they are and the person they want to be and the fantasy character is usually significantly different than the real person. This difference widens as the person ages; children find it easy to shape themselves and play out their fantasies, while adults usually feel less comfortable in a make-believe world.

One of the reasons historical re-enactments have recently gained in popularity is that adults have an inate desire to "dress up,"explains Dr. Goldstein. Re-enactment is safe. It puts a distance between reality and fantasy, but makes the fantasy a logical extension of the intellectual adult mind which takes pride in the amount of research done and the accuracy achieved in the portrayal of a character.

"There are always certain roles people want," Dr. Goldstein says. "For females, it is either the Goddess of Home or the Temple Whore." The Temple Whoreor wenchis allowed to drop all sexual and social taboos to become a sensual, earthy, Chaucerian woman. Wenches are for women what gangsters are for men.
But Dr. Goldstein reminds women that most men do not desire a wench on a full-time basis. There has to be a line between fantasy and reality because of the possibility that roleplaying will lose its potency. But, she adds, "Couples who play together have stronger relationships."

Before rushing into a roleplaying environment, Dr. Goldstein warns not to dress up without knowing how your character will be treated, and behavior should be tempered with common sense. Rules for playing in public should be the same as in private.

"It can be healthy to be what you would never be otherwise," she asserts. "But be aware of the barrier between fantasy and real life. It's important to know that roleplaying is risky, although for families and couples, acting out fantasy personalities can be healthy and constructive."

So while you're not likely to take a lusty wench home as a souvenir from faire, you will have a lot more fun at faire because of them. And if you're willing to study their mannerisms at least as closely as their low-cut bodice, you could learn a lot about what it was to be a wench in the days of yore.