Posing a Threat: Flappers, Chorus Girls, and Other Brazen Performers of the American 1920s [Hardcover]

Angela J. Latham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2000

A lively look at the ways in which American women in the 1920s transformed their lives through performance and fashion.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In her engaging analysis of women's dress in the 1920s . . . Latham plumbs the age's agendas regarding women's clothing and their bodies. -- Lois W. Banner, Professor, History and Gender Studies, University of Southern California

Latham offers a lively and provocative analysis of women's ways of testing the boundaries of gender deninitions during the Roaring Twenties. -- Kathleen J. Turner, author, Lyndon Johnson's Dual War: Vietnam and the Press

Review

"In her engaging analysis of women's dress in the 1920s, Angela Latham is the first analyst in recent times to address at any length the important issue of the meaning of the flapper for the United States. Drawing her information from conservative moralists, feminists, and men and women of the stage, Latham plumbs the age's agendas regarding women's clothing and their bodies." (Lois W. Banner, Professor, History and Gender Studies, University of Southern California ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 217 pages
• Publisher: Wesleyan (April 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819564001
• ISBN-13: 978-0819564009
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,927,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Angela J. Latham's scholarly writing focuses on provocative performances by American women in the early twentieth century. More recently, Latham has authored her own provocative performances largely comprising narratives about her experiences in and eventual escape from a fundamentalist religious upbringing.

In addition to writing and performing, Latham has spent many years in academia, including serving as a Professor of Theatre, Communication, and Performance Studies. She now works as an academic administrator in higher education and especially enjoys the opportnities she has to make quality educational opportunities accessible to underserved or at-risk students.

Angela J. Latham lives in the Chicago metropolitan area with her family.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting look at life for women in the 1920s., January 5, 2002

By 

V. Richmond "veralexinerichmond" (Huntington, WV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Posing a Threat: Flappers, Chorus Girls, and Other Brazen Performers of the American 1920s (Paperback)

The author's basic premise is that in the 1920s, women used display to resist, while at times seeming to conform to, those who would have squeezed them into the molds of how society would have them appear. In the first few chapters, she does a good job of this. Especially insightful is the example of her own grandmother, who as a young woman in this time period, disguised both her bobbed hair and her married state so that she could continue in her chosen profession as teacher.

However, in the latter two chapters of the book, the author seems to focus more on the exploitation of women by the theatre industry and it's effects. In this, she seems to stray too far from her theme. It would have been better if she had had more examples like that of her grandmother which supported her theme, rather than diverging off of the topic.

I really do recommend this book at least for the initial chapters, which are an interesting look at the attitudes of an era that has been very much stereotyped. It gives you an idea of the some of the restrictions that would have been felt by a woman who was, not a Gretta Garbo or Clara Bow, but an average person trying to live from day to day....

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great cover and Illustrations ... but too academic, July 7, 2006

By 

Booklover "LA" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Posing a Threat: Flappers, Chorus Girls, and Other Brazen Performers of the American 1920s (Paperback)

This book reads like a dissertation. It's a great topic, and the cover and title promise much more than it delivers. I strongly suspect this was the author's dissertation project. That's fine because it's well-researched, and the author definitely is an expert on women in the 1920s. But it's a wet subject, and the auther serves it up dry. There's good information in here, but it'll be slow going. On the positive side, there are many great black-and-white illustrations.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Too Academic and Without Focus, May 22, 2007

By 

Jade (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Posing a Threat: Flappers, Chorus Girls, and Other Brazen Performers of the American 1920s (Paperback)

I got this book and I have to say that I read the introduction off of Amazon and wanted to read more stories such as that of the author's Grandmother. The book was WAY too dry and academic which is not necessarily a problem but the author seems to have lost focus. By the closing of the book, the author seemed not to be sure just how to tie up the book. While some aspects of the book were interesting with very good illustrations within, other aspects such as the end chapters dealing with the bathing suit controversies and the chorus girl criticism seemed overwrought with angry feminist analysis from the author. It seemed as if one was trying to figure out if this was the author's own personal opinion or one based off of careful research into the topic. The author was trying to make the case that the 1920s was not an age of hedonistic freedom that is sometimes presented in other books on that time the fact is that from much of her illustrations and footnotes it can clearly be seen that in contrast to the age previous (the Edwardian) age the 20s was in fact an age of Hedonism which has of course been exposited in other books only to come to an end with the economic crash of the 30s. The author failed also to actually analyze the biographies of actual "flappers", chorus girls and others to actually posit her thesis which really failed miserably. Her analysis was simplistic.