Freak shows at British seaside resorts, 1900-1950
This thesis merges the history of the seaside and the history of the freak show, to explore the display of freaks in the first half of the twentieth-century, including their meanings, representations and constructions for the British public. It builds upon the scholarly research conducted by Leslie Fiedler, Robert Bogdan, Rosemarie Garland Thomson, and Nadja Durbach that focuses on the exhibition of unusual bodies for entertainment in the nineteenth-century. Through concentrating on displays of freakery between 1900 and 1950, it assesses the continuation of freakery at British seaside resorts, spaces on the physical and metaphorical margins of British life. The thesis assesses the seaside space as a site for the continuation of freakery in the twentieth-century. It examines the different types of unusual bodies that were displayed as part of the coastal freak show including midgets, starvation performers, fat people, and 'half-men, half-women'. Through contextualising exhibitions of unusual bodies within their social and cultural context, it demonstrates how the British public understood themselves in relation to the unusual person on display, particularly in reference to health, wellness, 'normality', and
Purce, Emma Jane
Freak shows at British seaside resorts, 1900-1950. This thesis merges the history of the seaside and the history of the freak show, to explore the display of freaks in the first half of the twentieth-century, including their meanings, representations and constructions for the British public. It builds upon the scholarly research conducted by Leslie Fiedler, Robert Bogdan, Rosemarie Garland Thomson, and Nadja Durbach that focuses on the exhibition of unusual bodies for entertainment in the nineteenth-century. Through concentrating on displays of freakery between 1900 and 1950, it assesses the continuation of freakery at British seaside resorts, spaces on the physical and metaphorical margins of British life. The thesis assesses the seaside space as a site for the continuation of freakery in the twentieth-century. It examines the different types of unusual bodies that were displayed as part of the coastal freak show including midgets, starvation performers, fat people, and 'half-men, half-women'. Through contextualising exhibitions of unusual bodies within their social and cultural context, it demonstrates how the British public understood themselves in relation to the unusual person on display, particularly in reference to health, wellness, 'normality', and
show british resort history history show explore display first_half twentieth_century include meaning_representation construction british_public build_upon scholarly conduct focus exhibition unusual body entertainment nineteenth_century concentrate display assess continuation british resort space physical metaphorical margin british life ass space site continuation twentieth_century examines different_type unusual body display part coastal show include performer fat people half men half women contextualising exhibition unusual body within social_cultural context demonstrate british_public understood relation unusual person display particularly reference health normality