Title	Dixie Camp: Anxiety and Performance in the Cold War South
Author	Hirsch, Arthur
Advisors	Scott, Michelle R.
Program	Historical Studies
UMBC Department	History
Document Type	thesis
Sponsors	University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
Keywords	rock 'n' roll; Little Richard; Camp; American South; Cold War culture; History, United States (0337)
Date Issued	2008-02-12;
Abstract	This thesis explores the prevalence of camp or gender-blurring performance in the Cold War South, its roots in black and white regional traditions, its influence in rhythm & blues and rock 'n' roll, and its role as a mediator in the heightened anxiety about gender roles and sexuality during the late 1940s and 1950s. While camp style is generally associated with gay, urbane, whites, the paper makes a claim for a southern version, its inflections drawn from a range of sources: African-American parody, frank treatment of sexuality in the blues, traveling carnivals, folk ritual and Cold War adaptations of Hollywood styles, arguing that in its vigilance about black male sexuality during and before the Cold War, the white South enabled the emergence of a gay sensibility in black performance in the 1950s. The paper looks at camp performers in New Orleans, Atlanta, South Carolina, and the most influential practitioners: "Little" Richard Penniman and Elvis Presley.
Identifier	1153
Format	application:pdf
Language	en
Collection	UMBC Theses and Dissertations
Rights Statement	This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu.
Source	umi-umbc-1153.pdf
Access Rights	Access limited to the UMBC community. Item may possibly be obtained via Interlibrary Loan through a local library, pending author/copyright holder's permission.

Dixie Camp: Anxiety and Performance in the Cold War South

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