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Beware the Bearded Woman: Freaks, the Female Body, and Non-Recognition

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Degree
Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, American Culture Studies/English, .
Abstract
This thesis explores the concept of recognizable and non-recognizable bodies through examining representations of female freaks in literature. Bodies must be recognizable in order to be considered human, yet the non-recognizable body or freakish body offers alternate possibilities of embodiment that are usually overlooked. This thesis focuses on what happens when the non-recognizable female freak is in the public gaze and the gaze among intimates. Both of these spaces are ambivalent spaces for the female freak in which she finds simultaneous danger and power, identification and manipulation.
Keywords
Freaks; Freak Show; Female Body; Gaze
Advisor
William Albertini
Pages
108p.

Document number: bgsu1151132318
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