Mae West: Assertive, Bawdy

While you’re sleeping, college professors in Hungary are thinking about MAE WEST. Here’s a long, striking research paper you might have missed. This is Part 45.
• • "Mae West. The Dirty Snow White" • •
• • Written by:  Zsófia Anna Tóth
• • so crucial for all women • •
• • Zsófia Anna Tóth wrote: A female humorist or comedian, as I have already pointed out, occupies a masculine position and challenging femininity, both hers as well as its abstract notions. That is why the presence of such women is so crucial for all women; “regardless of what type of comedy they performed, when comediennes appeared on stage or on screen they were visibly refuting the idea that femininity was incompatible with a sense of humor and proving that women could be aggressive, assertive, bawdy, and, most importantly, funny” (Anderson Wagner 42) just as Mae West did. Nevertheless, her excessive femininity is something to be remembered and also to be discussed briefly since it was such a striking aspect of her persona that it cannot be left unnoticed. My view is that she did all this on purpose and exactly to cover up her masculinity. Similar to femmes fatales, who are also phallic women Mae West is also threatening with her non-femininity.
• • Swagger and Sex • •   . . .
• • This was Part 45 of a lengthy article. Part 46 will follow on Monday. 
• • Source: Americana — — E-Journal of American Studies in Hungary; Vol. XI, No. 1, Spring 2015.
• • On Wednesday, 6 April 1927 • •

• • On Tuesday, 5 April 1927 at Jefferson Market Court [on Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village], the jury returned with a guilty verdict. As she left the courtroom, followed by reporters, photographers, and a mob of well-wishers, Mae told them, "You've got to fight in this world!" She added, "You've got to fight to get there — — and fight to stay there."
• • On Wednesday, 6 April 1927, articles about Mae were published in Variety, The New York Times, The N.Y. Herald Tribune, and elsewhere
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Handsome celebrity photographer Peter Gowland was asked by Joe Bardo, who was part of Mae West's Las Vegas productions, if Peter wanted to photograph Mae in the nude. Mr. Gowland said he almost dropped the phone!
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I'd rather be looked over than overlooked."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An editorial in April 1940 on work relief mentioned Mae West.
• • The Charlotte News wrote: You don't hear as many WPA jokes as you used to. For that matter, you don't hear as many Mae West stories, though we think it's for an exactly different reason. Mae's on the way out. And WPA, or some form of it, we're afraid, is here to stay. . . .
• • Source: Editorial: "Two High Chairs" in The Charlotte News; published on Saturday, 6 April 1940
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • • 
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — — 
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/

• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 13th anniversary • •  

• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past thirteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,800 blog posts. Wow!  

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started thirteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3934th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • with Barry O'Neill on trial in 1927 • •
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