Jumping through hoops performing gender in the nineteenth-century circus / Betsy Golden Kellem.
| Author/creator | Kellem, Betsy Golden |
| Format | Electronic |
| Edition | First Feminist Press edition. |
| Publication Info | New York City, NY : The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2025. |
| Description | 268 pages illustrations 23 cm |
| Supplemental Content | Full text available from Ebook Central - Academic Complete |
| Subjects |
| Physical medium | illustrations |
| Contents | Introduction. Step right up! -- Media and sources in an era of connection -- Building the nineteenth-century big top -- Womanhood, real and true -- The queen of beauty and the armless wonder -- Women take flight -- Invisible girls and electric women -- Circassian beauties in the American sideshow -- The remarkable life of Millie-Christine Mckoy, the two-headed nightingale -- The splendor and terror of bearded ladies -- Ella Zoyara,"the Boy-Girl" -- New women join the circus -- Conclusion. Taming savage beasts. |
| Abstract | "Jumping Through Hoops reveals the hidden history of early female circus performers: boundary-breaking women like Lavinia Warren, known as The Queen of Beauty; Millie-Christine McKoy, the Two-Headed Nightingale; and Patty Astley, the mother of the modern circus. These female and gender-nonconforming artists wrestled snakes, performed magic tricks with electricity, and walked across waterfalls on tightropes, shattering taboos by performing in public at a time when "respectable" women were mostly confined to their homes. Betsy Golden Kellem explores how major forces in the long nineteenth century combined to create the uniquely American spectacle of the traveling circus. During the transformation of the circus from scrappy "mud shows" to a major international business, these circus women challenged contemporary ideas of femininity, creating new possibilities for women far beyond the big top"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references. |
| Access restriction | Available only to authorized users. |
| Technical details | Mode of access: World Wide Web |
| Genre/form | Electronic books. |
| LCCN | 2025005991 |
| ISBN | 9781558613447 paperback |
| ISBN | ebook |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic Resources | Access Content Online | ✔ Available |