Mae West: Evokes Arousal

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 50 of a lengthy piece.
• • Laughing off the “Fatness” ― Mae West’s Body Image and Female Spectators in the Early 1930s • •
• • Mae West: Turns the table on the men • •

• • Mio Hatokai wrote: Rowe goes further by applying Gaylyn Studlar’s argument of masochistic pleasure that men may feel when they give themselves over to the image of a female who evoke the all-powerful mother, saying, “Mae West turns the table on the men, asserting both her power over — and desire for — men.”  
• • Mio Hatokai wrote: However, both Seidman and Rowe fail to mention the effects that this painting brings about on the minds of female spectators.
• • Mio Hatokai wrote: Gaylyn Studlar’s model is also applicable; for women, it evokes the desire for what the powerful pre-Oedipal mother possesses, namely, the breast and the womb.
• • Mae West: Her body aroused desire • • ...    
• • Mio Hatokai’s lengthy article excerpt will continue on the next post.
• • Source: Academic anthology on film stars released by Waseda University, 2015.
• • On Sunday, 28 December 1919 on Broadway • •
• • It was Sunday, 28 December 1919 and Mae West was very busy in Manhattan — — double-booked, in fact.
• • The 26-year-old "firefly of vaudeville" was appearing that night at the Lyric Theatre [on 42nd Street, west of Broadway]. Sharing the Lyric bill with her were these entertainers: Eugene and Willie, the Howard Brothers; Carl McCullough; the 4 Haley Sisters; and "8 other favorite acts."
• • On the same Sunday night, Mae West performed at the 44th Street Theatre [near Broadway]. On the program was the top-billed act — — Sophie Tucker and Her Kings of Syncopation — — along with Ames and Winthrop, Mae West, Riggs and Witchie, and "8 other favorite acts."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West said she liked Elvis Presley. "He was raw and the sexiest actor around. He could sing, too.”
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "There is something about big cats that appeals to me."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Cheat Sheet featured an article on Mae West.
• • Why Did Mae West Turn Down a Role in a Movie with Elvis Presley? • •
• • Laura Dorwart wrote: Mae West also considered her carefully crafted persona to be an important part of her art. That’s why it’s not too surprising that, at the age of 69, Mae West decided to turn down what many would have considered to be an incredible opportunity to star in a film with the King of Rock and Roll. …
• • Source: Showbiz Cheat Sheet; published on Sunday, 24 January 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 4,896th 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/
________
Source: https://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • paperback version • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest