In some respects, the clown’s gender was indeterminate, obscured by thick pancake white, eye pencil, lipstick, and loud, floppy dress. On one level, the clown’s emasculated masquerade rendered him harmless, a friend of children. But on another level, the drag clown explicitly challenged gender norms, because he demonstrated the shifting, socially constructed ground on which “natural” norms were based. Hence, the stereotype of the “scary” clown as sexual predator or mental derelict lives on, exemplified by the actor Tim Curry’s sociopathic clown character in the film version of Stephen King’s It, and punk bands such as the Insane Clown Posse.
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The Circus Age by Janet M. Davis Because apparently the gender ambiguity of circus performers is one of those things I just keep coming back to. |
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subjecttochange8 liked this
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robokittens said:
Mary how do you manage to find intelligent quotes about ICP. You are my favorite juggalo.
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sharpestrose posted this
