Spectacle of deformity : freak shows and modern British culture /

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In 1847, during the great age of the freak show, the British periodical Punch bemoaned the public's "prevailing taste for deformity." This vividly detailed work argues that far from being purely exploitative, displays of anomalous bodies served a deeper social purpose as they generate...

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Bibliographic Details
Call Number:Libro Electrónico
Main Author: Durbach, Nadja, 1971-
Format: Electronic eBook
Language:Inglés
Published: Berkeley : University of California Press, c2010.
Subjects:
1800-1899
Abnormalities, Human > Great Britain > History > 19th century.
Freak shows > Great Britain > History > 19th century.
Human body > Social aspects > Great Britain > History > 19th century.
Congenital Abnormalities > history > Great Britain.
History, 19th Century > Great Britain.
Exhibitions de monstres > Grande-Bretagne > Histoire > 19e siècle.
Corps humain > Aspect social > Grande-Bretagne > Histoire > 19e siècle.
PERFORMING ARTS > Circus.
HISTORY > Europe > General.
Abnormalities, Human
Freak shows
Human body > Social aspects
Great Britain
Electronic books.
History
Online Access:Texto completo
Description
Summary:In 1847, during the great age of the freak show, the British periodical Punch bemoaned the public's "prevailing taste for deformity." This vividly detailed work argues that far from being purely exploitative, displays of anomalous bodies served a deeper social purpose as they generated popular and scientific debates over the meanings attached to bodily difference. Nadja Durbach examines freaks both well-known and obscure including the Elephant Man; "Lalloo, the Double-Bodied Hindoo Boy," a set of conjoined twins advertised as half male, half female; Krao, a seven-year-old hairy Laotian girl wh
Physical Description:1 online resource (xiii, 273 p.)
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:9780520944893
0520944895
1282359975
9781282359970

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