Mad About the Blonde

Lydia Thompson's Transatlantic Celebrity and Fandom

Bibliographic Data

ID3852282
AuthorsHolly Gale Millette, Holly-Gale Millette (0000-0003-4731-3138, University of Southampton, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume14
Issue1
Pages34-48
Publication date2016-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueComparative American Studies An International Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1477-5700 • E-ISSN: 1741-2676
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14775700.2016.1213015
OpenAlexW2489030762
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited17

Lydia Thompson, the nineteenth-century British dancer and comedienne, had an active following in America and achieved immense success there – more so than in her own country, in terms of fandom and remuneration. The impact of Thompson’s performances on audiences is considered here, in order to reveal the parasocial relationships her public persona inspired in her female fans in the United States. This essay relies on the life writing of Thompson and one of her fans to evidence the ways in which celebrity culture-mediated transatlantic cultural exchange in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. Focus is cast on the encounters and parasocial interactions – interactions that occur across a significant social distance – between Thompson and her fans and how this exposed her cultural consumers to new constructions of public and private identity. It explores how, and on what terms, Lydia Thompson became an intimate stranger to her female fans, and in what ways, she was a celebrity

Aesthetics · Art · Celebrity culture · Fandom · Humanities · Media studies · Persona · Political science · Popular culture · Remuneration · Sociology · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Law · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Sports, Gender, and Society

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub