This is strange.
Depicting Cleopatra as male was probably a sign of respect.
We are told by historians Cleopatra was an ugly woman. We are told by historians that Cleopatra was hyped by people who never knew her.
This was not long after her death. Maybe she really was a force to be reckoned with.
Was Cleopatra black or a moor? Some African-American professors at colleges claim that she was a black woman.
"We are told by historians Cleopatra was an ugly woman"
so that's why liz taylor played her in the movie version?