In the United States, performances of female nudity have a long history of transgressing and challenging socially constructed understandings of gender roles. This history stretches from burlesque performances just before and after the turn of the 20th century to the more contemporary work of performance artists like Karen Finley and Annie Sprinkle. Instead of focusing on these solo performance artists, who use their nude bodies to raise troubling questions about gender and sexuality, this thesis breaks new ground. I investigate uses of female nudity in three contemporary examples of popular performance: the Fluffgirl Burlesque Society, Girls Gone Wild, and the SuicideGirls. By looking at these three examples and the ways they each use different mediums of representation, I explore possible answers to the following questions: Can the representation of female nudity take place from a subject rather than an objectified position? Can performing "femaleness" based in the image of the nude female body signify an ownership and display of her own sexuality? Is female nudity always only a commodity for appropriation by the male or desiring spectator? Can women intervene in an economy of sexual desire by using the very images that are the stock and trade of such an economy? Who is in the power position if a woman chooses to have the desiring gaze directed at her? In addition to investigating the answers to these questions, this thesis also explores the possibility of an ethical heterosexual male desire in relationship to representations of performed female nudity. / A Thesis submitted to the School of Theatre in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2006. / March 28, 2006. / Joe Francis, Cecilia Bravo, Piercing, Tattoo, Wet T-Shirt Contest, Agency, Nudity, Strip Tease, Neo-Burlesque, Burlesque, Suicidegirls, Girls Gone Wild, Missy Suicide, Fluffgirl Burlesque Society, Pornography / Includes bibliographical references. / Mary Karen Dahl, Professor Directing Thesis; Laura Edmondson, Committee Member; Carrie Sandahl, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_180876 |
| Contributors | McConnell, George D. (authoraut), Dahl, Mary Karen (professor directing thesis), Edmondson, Laura (committee member), Sandahl, Carrie (committee member), School of Theatre (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
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