Bulldaggers, Pansies, and Chocolate Babies

Performance, Race, and Sexuality in the Harlem Renaissance

Bibliographic Data

ID19946873
AuthorsJames Wilson (0009-0008-9401-7036), James F Wilson (0000-0001-5751-9178), James M Wilson (0000-0003-2444-9171, University of Michigan, corresponding author)
Year2010
Pages272
Publication date2010-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueBulldaggers, Pansies, and Chocolate Babies (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherUniversity of Michigan Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.3998/mpub.1175684
OpenAlexW4234979293
Open LibraryOL27649635M
ISBN9780472034895
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited117

Bulldaggers, Pansies, and Chocolate Babies shines the spotlight on historically neglected plays and performances that challenged early twentieth-century notions of the stratification of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. On Broadway stages, in Harlem nightclubs and dance halls, and within private homes sponsoring rent parties, African American performers of the 1920s and early 1930s teased the limits of white middle-class morality. Blues-singing lesbians, popularly known as "bulldaggers," performed bawdy songs; cross-dressing men vied for the top prizes in lavish drag balls; and black and white women flaunted their sexuality in scandalous melodramas and musical revues. Race leaders, preachers, and theater critics spoke out against these performances that threatened to undermine social and political progress, but to no avail: mainstream audiences could not get enough of the riotous entertainment. James F. Wilson has based his rich cultural history on a wide range of documents from the period, including eyewitness accounts, newspaper reports, songs, and play scripts, combining archival research with an analysis grounded in a cultural studies framework that incorporates both queer theory and critical race theory. Throughout, he argues against the widely held belief that the stereotypical forms of black, lesbian, and gay show business of the 1920s prohibited the emergence of distinctive new voices. Figuring prominently in the book are African American performers including Gladys Bentley, Ethel Waters, and Florence Mills, among others, and prominent writers, artists, and leaders of the era, including Langston Hughes, Wallace Thurman, Zora Neale Hurston, and W. E. B. Du Bois. The study also engages with contemporary literary critics, including Henry Louis Gates and Houston Baker. "James F. Wilson uncovers fascinating new material on the Harlem Renaissance, shedding light on the oft-forgotten gay and lesbian contributions to the era's creativity and Civil Rights. Extremely well researched, compellingly written, and highly informative." —David Krasner, author of A Beautiful Pageant: African American Theatre, Drama, and Performance in the Harlem Renaissance, 1910-1927

Art · Art history · Blues · Entertainment · Human sexuality · Ideology · Jazz · Lesbian · Mainstream · Musical · Political science · Politics · Queer · Sociology · Visual arts · White (mutation) · Gender Studies · Law · Race, History, and American Society · Theater, Performance, and Music History · 20th century · African americans · African americans in literature · African americans in the performing arts · American drama · American drama, african american authors · American drama, african american authors, history and criticism · American drama, history and criticism · Harlem renaissance · History · History and criticism · Intellectual life · New York · New York (State) · Theater · united states