CULTURE
Welcome to the
Freakshow
AMERICA'S COMPLICATED FASCINATION WITH SIDESHOWS Written by Maya Greenberg, New Members Director Illustrated by Riley August, Staff Graphic Artist
T
he circus has been a staple of American entertainment for over two centuries. From state fairs to huge international phenomenons, they attract families with their rides, magic shows, games and food. However, they also boast a much darker attraction: Freak shows. Freak shows, often called sideshows, display human anomalies. These exhibits of human rarities surged across America in the late 19th century, “capitalizing on a new fascination with science and the inhabitants of foreign lands.”1 Famous “freaks” such as Lobster Boy, the Bearded Lady and Siamese twins Chang and Eng would travel around and perform tricks for audiences, amazing them with both their skills and their appearance. While some view these performers as having been granted unique opportunities, history suggests that many of them were exploited and subjected to humiliation and bigotry. ¹ Brigham A, Fordham, “Dangerous Bodies”, UCLA Entertainment Law Review, 2007.
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For a long time, medicine was not advanced enough to properly diagnose many of these “freaks.” The majority of people would not have access to learn about the diagnoses even if they were possible, and many viewers truly believed that the shows they were going to see contained performers that were something different than human. The 1800s were a cruel century for anyone who was seen as “different” in the gaze of privileged white America. For individuals who were forced to the fringes of society, freak shows created a community where they were heralded as stars. Further, sideshows provided jobs to individuals who may have otherwise been excluded from the workforce. If put on in the right way, the shows may also have had the power to “encourage productive discussion about physical difference.”2 Like anything else, these performances were a form of art. Some of the most famous performers profited greatly off ² Ibid.
of the American public’s fascination with human oddities. By the time that Siamese twins Chang and Eng retired at only 29, they were millionaires.3 William Henry Johnson performed under the name “Zip the Pinhead,” and although he spent his career playing the fool, he was a millionaire by his retirement.4 Both his employers and his audience always believed he had a mental disability, but on his deathbed, Johnson turned to his sister and said, “well, we fooled ‘em for a long time.” Unfortunately, freak shows also have a darker history of exploitation with roots in racism. The basis of much of the racism in American freak shows can be boiled down as a response to one man: Charles Darwin. “On the Origin of Species,” Darwin’s revolutionary work on evolution, came out in 1859 and P.T. Barnum, America’s beloved showman, wasted no time riding on the coattails of its success. Barnum relied on American society’s fascination ³ Zachary, Crockett, “The Rise and Fall of Circus Freakshows”, Priceonomics, April 30, 2014. ⁴ Ibid.