
Sexual Suspects
Eighteenth-Century Players and Sexual Ideology
Kristina Straub(Author)
Princeton University Press
Published on 6. January 1992
Book
Paperback/Softback
212 pages
978-0-691-01515-6 (ISBN)
Description
From the Restoration through the 18th century, the sexuality of actors and actresses was written about in ways that stirred the public imagination. Actors were frequently suspected of heterosexual promiscuity or labelled effeminate, and actresses were often viewed as prostitutes or sexually ambivalent victims of their profession. This depiction of players, argues Kristina Straub, greatly shaped public debates over what made women feminine and men masculine. Considering a wide range of literature by or about players - pamphlets, newspaper reports, theatrical histories, biographies, as well as the public correspondence between Alexander Pope and the actor Colley Cibber - she examines the formation of gender roles and sexual identities during a period crucial to modern thinking on these issues.
Reviews / Votes
"Finalist for the 1993 Barnard Hewitt Award, American Society for Theatre Research" "Kristina Straub makes gender issues central to the history of drama in a way they have never really been before, and her book could not appear in the literary critical scene at a better time." * Nancy Armstrong, University of Minnesota *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
ISBN-13
978-0-691-01515-6 (9780691015156)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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E-Book
11/2023
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
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