Mae West: A Public Display

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 50.
• • "Mae West. The Dirty Snow White" • •
• • Written by:  Zsófia Anna Tóth
• • Public display of womanhood • •
• • Zsófia Anna Tóth wrote: Public display of womanhood, excessive femininity and sexual allure all are meant to avert the attention from intellectual proficiency and the possession of the phallus (Riviere 37). As Riviere claims, “[w]omanliness therefore could be assumed and worn as a mask, both to hide the possession of masculinity and to avert the reprisals expected if she was found to possess it […]” (38). That is why, West probably carries her excessive feminine masquerade to such extremes that she is often conceived even a transvestite (Mellen 243). As Joan Mellen also remarks about West’s ‘covers’:
• • Examining Herself • •
• • Zsófia Anna Tóth wrote: [w]hat has been cited as her narcissism was hardly a liberated response;   but Mae West’s endless filing of her fingernails, bored by all, or examining herself in multiple mirrors, are also deceives she employs as foils for shrewd observations into a petty, ambitious and hypocritical society where women have always had to conceal their intelligence and remain on guard. When West masks her intellectuality, it is of course a measure of continued enslavement. (232)
• • Never Committed to Any Man • •  . . .  
• • This was Part 50 of a lengthy article. Part 51 will follow on Monday.  
• • Source: Americana — — E-Journal of American Studies in Hungary; Vol. XI, No. 1, Spring 2015.
• • On Friday, 13 April 1934 in Film Weekly • •
• • It was on the issue dated for Friday, 13 April 1934 that Mae West appeared on the cover of Film Weekly (Vol. 11) in the United Kingdom.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • How about a picture co-starring John Barrymore, W.C. Fields, and Mae West?
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "A man's kiss is his signature."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Hudson Reporter mentioned Mae West.
• • Lillian Bustle and Mae West together • •

• • Lillian Bustle finds it funny that the same city that shut down a Mae West production in the 1920s, shut down her show, too.  “I think it’s ironic that city officials dragged out Mae West from a place across the street from City Hall,” she said.
• • The Hudson Reporter wrote:  Mae West, a star of film and stage, was one of the most provocative performers of the 1920s, and later ran afoul of questionable film obscenity rules. She was arrested during a performance of her play “Sex,” at the Majestic Theatre located across Grove Street from City Hall. The theater had become part of the vaudeville and burlesque circuit in 1925. Among the performers were Mae West, Al Jolson, W.C. Fields, George Burns, Groucho Marx, Fanny Brice, and George M. Cohan. Later developed by the Silverman brothers into condominiums, the building’s lobby functions as a gallery for local artists.
• • The Hudson Reporter wrote:  The mayor of Jersey City at the time of West’s show, Frank Hague, an Irish Catholic, did not approve of what he called “immoral shows,” and shut down several productions including West’s play “Sex” in mid-performance.
• • The Hudson Reporter wrote:  Bayonne also shut down West’s play, “The Drag” at the Bayonne Opera House, saying the “sex play” was “not fit for public presentation.”  . . .
• • Source: Article in The Hudson Reporter; published on Sunday, 8 April 2018
• • 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 3939th 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 • • in 1928 • •
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