Female Spectacle: The Theatrical Roots of Modern Feminism

by Susan A. Glenn

When the French actress Sarah Bernhardt made her first American tour in 1880, the term "feminism" had not yet entered our national vocabulary. But over the course of the next half-century, a rising generation of daring actresses and comics brought a new kind of woman to center stage. Exploring and exploiting modern fantasies and fears about female roles and gender identity, these performers eschewed theatrical convention and traditional notions of womanly modesty. They created powerful images of themselves as ambitious, independent, and sexually expressive "New Women."

Female Spectacle reveals the theater to have been a powerful new source of cultural authority and visibility for women. Ironically, theater also provided an arena in which producers and audiences projected the uncertainties and hostilities that accompanied changing gender relations. From Bernhardt's modern methods of self-promotion to Emma Goldman's political theatrics, from the female mimics and Salome dancers to the upwardly striving chorus girl, Glenn shows us how and why theater mattered to women and argues for its pivotal role in the emergence of modern feminism.

Genres: History, Feminism, Theatre, Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2000

Reviews

[Mos · Rating 1 out of 5]

The conclusion was the worst conclusion of a book I have ever read in my entire life. The whole book reeks of white feminism/white womanhood and she deliberately ignores black women like the plague. Especially in the conclusion, which is full of lies that will make a person dizzy. Her commentary was so shallow and white, especially in that conclusion, that I can’t believe she’s still allowed to write stuff and gets paid for that. I highly recommend not reading this book.

[Sammy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Putting this book in front of a fan out in the middle of the desert heat could not make this book any drier. This had to have been one of the most boring books I have ever written. So boring I couldn't even make myself finish it. It wasn't just every page or paragraph that made me tired, it was every word. There was no life to any of the writing in this book.

Of course I understand that it's non-fiction, I didn't go into this book expecting some sort of romantic, action-filled romp. I didn't even expect that much drama despite dealing with a combination of theater and feminism. But I did expect something... and I got nothing.

The entire book reads like a high school students report, though the content and language reads more at university level. There are so many source notes throughout the book that there is near fifty extra pages added to the book to actually cite the sources. The fact that it became saturated with psychology and began to get really wordy also didn't help keep it from feeling like a report.

There were a few interesting tidbits scattered throughout but for the life of me I really can't recall them. I'm really disappointed at how dry and uninteresting this book was because the actual subject matter deals with two things I'm really interested in, theater and women's rights. Yet as fascinating as those things are when dealt with in a dull fashion... I couldn't bear it.

Really, there's nothing much else to say. Don't say I gave up, though, because I did get through more than half the book and when I found it wasn't improving (getting worse actually) I just couldn't stand it. I've got loads of other and better books that I want to start on. If anyone can reccommend some decent books dealing with this subject (theatre and feminism) that are actually good, please let me know, I still want to read them. Thanks!

[Holly George]

the book I wish I had written