6 “Nationally Advertised Legs”: How Broadway Invented “The Girls”

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Illustrations ix
4. Introduction 1
5. 1 The Bernhardt Effect: Self-Advertising and the Age of Spectacle 9
6. 2 Mirth and Girth: The Politics of Comedy 40
7. 3 The Strong Personality: Female Mimics and the Play of the Self 74
8. 4 The Americanization of Salome: Sexuality, Race, and the Careers of the Vulgar Princess 96
9. 5 “The Eyes of the Enemy”: Female Activism and the Paradox of Theater 126
10. 6 “Nationally Advertised Legs”: How Broadway Invented “The Girls” 155
11. 7 “Like All the Rest of Womankind Only More So”: The Chorus Girl Problem and American Culture 188
12. Conclusion: The Legacy of Female Spectacle 216
13. Abbreviations 226
14. Notes 227
15. Acknowledgments 275
16. Index 277