Mae West: Clumsy or Curvy?

MAE WEST’s plump, curvaceous body was a vital element in her comedy. Academics have emphasized that “excessive body is one of the qualities of female unruliness, suggesting that she is unwilling or unable to control her physical appetites.” Japanese film historian Mio Hatokai discusses how Hollywood publicists and fan zines responded to this “fatness” in 1933. This is Part 26 of a lengthy piece.
• • Laughing off the “Fatness” ― Mae West’s Body Image and Female Spectators in the Early 1930s • •
• • Mae West: Curvy gets applause; being fat is vilified • •  
• • Mio Hatokai wrote: It says, “That starved look is OUT and dangerous curves are IN!”   

• • Mio Hatokai wrote: The article, however, repeatedly emphasizes the difference between being curvy and being fat, and vilifies the latter quite blatantly.
• • Mae West was called “voluptuous” ― ― whereas fan magazines vilified “fat” women. • •
• • Mio Hatokai wrote: There is a quote from Paramount’s studio stylist, saying, “I loathe fat. Mae West is a single example of voluptuous curves.  [...]The ordinary woman of her weight and curves would be outrageously clumsy ― ― but Mae handles herself beautifully.”
• • Mae West: Hollywood’s Beauty Experts define “beauty” • •  ...  
• • Mio Hatokai’s lengthy article will continue on the next post.
• • Source: Academic anthology on film stars released by Waseda University, 2015.
• • On Tuesday, 24 November 1931 • •
• • On Tuesday, 24 November 1931 the newspaper Washington Herald reviewed "Constant Sinner." The D.C.-based drama critic wrote about the Greek-American actor George Givot's portrayal of the Harlem pimp Money Johnson as well as "the aroma of Mae West's hybrid dialogue."
• • On Wednesday, 24 November 1976 in Australia • •
• • An article "The Two Hidden Faces of Mae West" appeared in The Australian Women's Weekly on Wednesday, 24 November 1976.
• • On Monday, 24 November 1980 in the U.K. • •
• • British journalist Clancy Sigal fondly recalled the inflatable, durable, and anti-hypocritical genius of the late Mae West in London's Guardian. A lovely tribute.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Hollywood film critic Kevin Thomas wrote: Once when Owney Madden wanted to visit Los Angeles, Mae West cleared the way with a word with another of her great friends, then-Los Angeles District Attorney Buron Fitts.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "If young girls knew more about love — — and didn't take it so seriously — — it would be better for them."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A history site mentioned Mae West.
• • 8 Famous Figures Who Believed in Communicating with the Dead • •
• • Elizabeth Yuko wrote: Here’s a look at eight famous figures who, at some point in their lives, believed it was possible to communicate with the dead.
• • Elizabeth Yuko wrote: After experiencing severe abdominal pains while performing in Chicago in 1929, writer, activist and star of the vaudeville stage and silver screen Mae West, then age 36, believed that her relief finally came at the hands of a Spiritualist healer named Sri Deva Ram Suku.
• • Elizabeth Yuko wrote: A collection of West’s papers from 1928 through 1984 housed in Harvard University’s Schlesinger Library contains clippings, correspondence and pamphlets related to her involvement with Spiritualism, including Thomas John “Jack” Kelly, a well-known medium who became West’s spiritual advisor and friend.
• • Elizabeth Yuko wrote: The archive also features papers documenting West’s multiple trips to Lily Dale, a Spiritualist camp outside Buffalo, New York where she would visit Kelly for readings and healing. This included a stay in the summer of 1955, when West was on hand for the July 3 dedication of a new healing temple in the community.
• • Elizabeth Yuko wrote: The healing temple was dedicated on July 3, 1955, and among those taking part in ceremonies was the famous actress Mae West, who often visited Lily Dale for readings and healings by Kelly. …
• • Source: History (dot) com; posted on Tuesday, 5 October 2021
• • 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 17th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past seventeen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,800 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seventeen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,872nd 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 • • Motion Picture, issue dated July 1933 • •
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