Freak Show
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Rachael Abraham
12/12/09
U.S. History
Period 2
Freak Show
Imagine standing on stage and having a crowd of hundreds of people stare and taunt at your deformities. Now imagine that being the least of your problems. Freak show performers in early 20th century had an abusive and hard life behind the curtain that is rarely acknowledged. The term freak usually refers to individuals with physical or mental abnormalities or a person who can perform acts that seem gruesome, painful or impossible to onlookers. Freaks became a popular sideshow attraction for many traveling circuses and encompassed a great variety of people. These performers, however, had a life that was far from ideal. Many were sold into the circus business by ashamed parents when they were very young or had neglected mental disabilities that kept them from comprehending how horrendous their situations were. The abnormalities of the freaks were exploited beyond belief for the capitalistic goal of creating a fortune for their masters. Freaks in general were treated as subhuman by those who paid to see them and also by those who put them on stage. Treatment of freak show performers in the circus business was inhumane and morally wrong as a result of the daily abuse and the exploitation that accompanied their competitive business.
Freaks came in many different forms, each more taboo than the last. Some came with birth abnormalities, growths, and deformities; others worked to build up special skills that would seem impossible or “freaky” to the average person. Freaks have always generated a great deal of interest, but it was not until the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that they became a popular public spectacle of entertainment. A wide variety of people emerged from a life of hiding to be displayed as an opener to the main acts of circuses, and “are most commonly cited as. . .cyclopes, giants, dwarves, joined twins, hermaphrodites, hirsuits and bearded women, individuals with severe skin disorders,...
12/12/09
U.S. History
Period 2
Freak Show
Imagine standing on stage and having a crowd of hundreds of people stare and taunt at your deformities. Now imagine that being the least of your problems. Freak show performers in early 20th century had an abusive and hard life behind the curtain that is rarely acknowledged. The term freak usually refers to individuals with physical or mental abnormalities or a person who can perform acts that seem gruesome, painful or impossible to onlookers. Freaks became a popular sideshow attraction for many traveling circuses and encompassed a great variety of people. These performers, however, had a life that was far from ideal. Many were sold into the circus business by ashamed parents when they were very young or had neglected mental disabilities that kept them from comprehending how horrendous their situations were. The abnormalities of the freaks were exploited beyond belief for the capitalistic goal of creating a fortune for their masters. Freaks in general were treated as subhuman by those who paid to see them and also by those who put them on stage. Treatment of freak show performers in the circus business was inhumane and morally wrong as a result of the daily abuse and the exploitation that accompanied their competitive business.
Freaks came in many different forms, each more taboo than the last. Some came with birth abnormalities, growths, and deformities; others worked to build up special skills that would seem impossible or “freaky” to the average person. Freaks have always generated a great deal of interest, but it was not until the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that they became a popular public spectacle of entertainment. A wide variety of people emerged from a life of hiding to be displayed as an opener to the main acts of circuses, and “are most commonly cited as. . .cyclopes, giants, dwarves, joined twins, hermaphrodites, hirsuits and bearded women, individuals with severe skin disorders,...