An early modern dancer, a revolutionary lighting technician, and an ardent queer feminist, Loie Fuller presented the female body in new and freeing ways. Her work de-gendered and hid the female body and, by doing so empowered it. Through her work, Fuller established the female body as a source of power; yet it is consistently degendered and/or oversexualized in dance scholarship because of its physical invisibility and imagery on the stage. I want to discuss the ways in which both of these assertions can interact without disregarding Fuller’s queerness -- doing so would mean overlooking a central portion of her work and intention.
To understand the combination of Fuller’s queerness, degendering, and empowering of the female body, one must historically …show more content…
Her version of Salome presents the leading female as a woman stuck in a power play between men whilst trying to escape the patriarchal structure in which she is trapped (townsend 82). Throughout the work, Fuller as Salome attempts to navigate her way through the struggles as an innocent, chaste, virgin; a shocking contrast to most other portrayals of Salome as a sort of femme fatale (garelick 95). Because Fuller’s presentation of Salome was so different than others presented during this time ( Fuller’s Salome does not demand the head of John the Baptist, King Herod does and Salome dies at the sight of said head), it automatically holds more power in its ambiguity. The audience begins to question Salome’s motives; is she dancing without knowledge of her power over King Herod or is she as completely innocent as she presents herself? Does Salome act as her mother wants, or does she, as well want John the Baptist dead (garelick 96)? Now, oftentimes these questions are raised in the critiquing of Fuller herself in creating this work however, these questions, thought by a viewer can create more captivation therefore allowing Fuller as Salome to hold more female
To understand the combination of Fuller’s queerness, degendering, and empowering of the female body, one must historically …show more content…
Her version of Salome presents the leading female as a woman stuck in a power play between men whilst trying to escape the patriarchal structure in which she is trapped (townsend 82). Throughout the work, Fuller as Salome attempts to navigate her way through the struggles as an innocent, chaste, virgin; a shocking contrast to most other portrayals of Salome as a sort of femme fatale (garelick 95). Because Fuller’s presentation of Salome was so different than others presented during this time ( Fuller’s Salome does not demand the head of John the Baptist, King Herod does and Salome dies at the sight of said head), it automatically holds more power in its ambiguity. The audience begins to question Salome’s motives; is she dancing without knowledge of her power over King Herod or is she as completely innocent as she presents herself? Does Salome act as her mother wants, or does she, as well want John the Baptist dead (garelick 96)? Now, oftentimes these questions are raised in the critiquing of Fuller herself in creating this work however, these questions, thought by a viewer can create more captivation therefore allowing Fuller as Salome to hold more female