Reviews for Functions and change

The average rating for Functions and change based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-10-14 00:00:00 Ian Hartless I came to this book because I had loved Andrea Stuart's biography of Empress Josephine The Rose of Martinique: A Life of Napoleon's Josephine . I had originally thought this was a biography of Josephine Baker, but though it isn't, this book is an excellent overview of the cultural icon, the showgirl. Stuart's examination of the historical, cultural, and sociological impact of the showgirl, from her inception in the mid 19th century to present day is fascinating. She considers the personal histories of the major showgirls covered in the book: Mistinguette (late 19th century France), Colette (turn of the century France), Josephine Baker (early 20th century America & France), Barbette (early 20th century Europe & America), Marlene Dietrich (1920s and '30s Germany and America), Mae West (1930s America). Of course she includes the context of the life of these and other showgirls, from the descriptions of the hot, uncomfortable preparations for the stage to the careful constructed personal lives covered by hungry tabloids. The showgirl has had many meanings over the years: the object of the male gaze, the symbol of women's self-sufficiency, sexual empowerment, sexual and moral deviance, and camp icon, among many others. Stuart explores these ideas, historically as well as in the contemporary (this book is from 1996, I would love to see an updated chapter covering the last twenty years). What is particularly successful about this book is how the author transitions from analysis to a riveting narration. She includes many small details about the lives of these performers that illustrate the intensity of being a showgirl, from the average weight of those feathered headdresses (15 pounds!) to the makeshift "facelifts" that Marlene Dietrich created in her later years to hide her sagging wrinkles (she held her forehead taut with straight pins in her scalp, under a wig). I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in theatre, Belle Epoque Paris, feminist/cultural studies, or performance art.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-06-08 00:00:00 Tomas Klang My copy of "Showgirls" is bristling with tabs where I've marked the book. Its a drop of water in a desert. It came out in 1996, and I'm surprised there didn't follow a heightened interest in the subject. It takes the showgirl seriously and leads you through the be-feathered heyday 1880-1930. Its a bible of performative femininity/feminism. I can't recommend this highly enough.