Spectacles of South Asia at the American Circus, 1890-1940

This article examines how racial and gendered images of South
Asia were played out in performance at the American circus
around 1900. These representations reinforced the Anglo-American
construct of racial hierarchy in which South Asians were
depicted to be static, and unable to keep pace with the
Anglo-American 'race'. American circus spectacles featuring
Indian subjects glorified British Imperialism and helped to
popularize the common colonialist stereotype that a minority of
English officials were needed to rule millions of Indians. The
American Circus, as the most popular form of American public
entertainment in an era before movies and television, helped to
form a constellation of racial and sexual stereotypes concerning
South Asia which continue to this day.


Citaten:
Benedict, B.: The anthropology of World's Fairs (1983)
Bogdan, R.: Freak Show (1988)
Lears, T.J.J.: No Place of Grace (1981)
Said, E.: Orientalism (1978)