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STAGING STIGMA: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE AMERICAN FREAK SHOW. By Michael M. Chemers. Foreword by Jim Ferris. Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008; pp. 192. $74.95 cloth.
To preface a study of the American freak show, as Michael Chemers does, with an anecdote about one's own experience with the controversial cultural form has become de rigueur in freak show scholarship. From childhood tales of attending sideshows clutching the hand of a beloved grandparent to reports of extensive field research conducted in the tented environs of a traveling freak show, scholars seem compelled to clarify their personal relationships to the titillating and repellent world of the American freak show. However, while the majority of such anecdotes read like disclaimers, their authors briefly acknowledging the conflicting emotions that accompany the study of freakery (pity, anxiety, wonder, disgust, amusement) before attempting a history sans subjectivity, Chemers's commitment to scholarly transparency is authentic and unwavering. Cognizant of the distancing techniques and nostalgic tropes frequently employed by scholars who "attempt to 'reclaim' the discourse of freakery for an activist agenda," Chemers aims to highlight and circumvent the ethical pitfalls inherent in studying and writing on the performativity of stigmatized bodies (132). A small book with big goals, Staging Stigma frames a laser-sharp analysis of four crucial moments in the history of freak shows with bold theoretical ruminations emerging from Chemers's work in disability studies. The result is an immensely readable study that also serves as a practical guide for future scholarly endeavors in theatre and disability studies.
In Staging Stigma's introduction,...