US Representations of the Male Body in Performance Art Monologues
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2004 Performing masculinities: U.S. representations of the male body in performance art monologues Darren C. Goins Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons Recommended Citation Goins, Darren C., "Performing masculinities: U.S. representations of the male body in performance art monologues" (2004). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2539. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2539 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. PERFORMING MASCULINITIES: U.S. REPRESENTATIONS OF THE MALE BODY IN PERFORMANCE ART MONOLOGUES A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In The Department of Communication Studies by Darren C. Goins B.A., Emory University, 1994 M.A., Florida State University, 1997 August, 2004 To my family of origin and my chosen family who have shaped my performance of masculinity. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank those individuals whose cooperation and guidance made the successful completion of this project possible. First, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Ruth Laurion Bowman, for her wisdom, patience, attention, faith, and energy. Next, I would like to thank Dr. Michael Bowman and Dr. Patricia A. Suchy who offered insightful suggestions, comments, and knowledge. I also would like to thank the other members of my committee, Dr. James Catano and Dr. Marchita Mauck, for their assistance and guidance. This project would not have been possible without the incredible performances and social critique created by of Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin, Eric Bogosian, and John Leguizamo. I am constantly intrigued by their amazing work and their contributions to the field of performance art monologues and gender. Thanks also are due to my friends Lawrence J. Bechtel, Steven Higgins, Joe Perez, Joni Butcher, Jacqueline Burleson, Greg Bell, Don Patton, and Tom Kilman whose moral support and encouragement kept me going. I want to extend a special thanks to Adam W. Hrincevich whose friendship and perspective on this process kept me sane. You are a great source of inspiration. Finally, I would like to extend my deepest thanks to my family whose constant support of every one of my pursuits is a priceless treasure I will always cherish. Molly Goins-Cox, your concern about my well being during this exercise and your involvement in my education and extra-curricular pursuits make you an angel on earth. I am blessed by our relationship. You, your husband, and your daughter are my little family in Connecticut and a source of comfort. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION.................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................................v CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION: STAGING MASCULINITIES ..............................1 Subjects of Study .....................................................................................................1 Method of Study ....................................................................................................12 Significance of Study.............................................................................................32 Notes ......................................................................................................................35 CHAPTER TWO: EPIPHANIES TOWARD A COMMUNICATIVE IDEAL IN WHOOPI GOLDBERG LIVE .....................................................................................38 Notes ......................................................................................................................82 CHAPTER THREE: THE HEGEMONIC AND MARGINALIZED MASCULINITIES IN THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE ................................................................................................83 Notes ....................................................................................................................118 CHAPTER FOUR: THE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF MASCULINITY IN SEX, DRUGS, ROCK & ROLL ...................................................119 Notes ....................................................................................................................160 CHAPTER FIVE: THE MASCULINE RITE OF PASSAGE IN JOHN LEGUIZAMO’S FREAK: A SEMI-DEMI-QUASI-PSEUDO AUTOBIOGRAPHY .....................................................................................................161 Notes ....................................................................................................................204 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSIONS: MODELS OF MASCULINITY.............................205 WORKS CITED ..............................................................................................................221 VITA................................................................................................................................231 iv ABSTRACT In this study, I describe and analyze the masculinities constructed in four performance art monologues staged in the US on Broadway. I examined Whoopi Goldberg’s 1984 performance Whoopi Goldberg Live, Lily Tomlin’s 1987 performance in Jane Wagner’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, Eric Bogosian’s 1990 performance Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, and John Leguizamo’s 1998 performance Freak: A Semi-Demi-Quasi-Pseudo Autobiography. My method of analysis is a critical interpretation incorporating the lenses of Robert Connell and Victor Seidler. It is grounded in a social-cultural perspective using Arthur W. Frank’s “sociology of the body.” By means of Connell, Seidler, and Frank’s theories, I conceptualize human behavior, gender in particular, in light of the social signs and codes, roles, and identities, that the performers’ bodies represent. The shows advance social critiques to their audience while also meeting the expectations of the popular marketplace by incorporating representational and presentational aesthetics. By evaluating and reconceiving the constructed nature of the self in and by means of performance, the performances advance a praxis. In light of my interest, they serve as a model for masculinities, as everyday actors, might (re-)conceive of and construct their lives, identities, and relationships. This study contributes to the growing literature and discourses concerned with representations of the male body and masculinities, particularly in live performance. In particular, this study offers an analysis of performance art monologues presented to the mainstream audiences that tend to frequent Broadway shows and that focus on diverse masculinities. v CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION: STAGING MASCULINITIES In this study, I describe and analyze the masculinities constructed in four performance art monologues staged in the US on Broadway. I use a critical interpretation grounded in a social-cultural perspective as my method of analysis. I am interested in a sociology based theory of the body that allows me to view human behavior, gender in particular, in light of the social signs and codes, roles and identities that the performers' bodies represent. One reason for conducting this study is to contribute to the growing literature and discourses concerned with representations of the male body and masculinities, particularly in live performance. An analysis of performance art monologues presented to the mainstream audiences that tend to frequent Broadway shows and that focus on diverse masculinities has not been conducted, as of yet. In this chapter, I discuss the subjects, methodology, and significance of the study. Subjects of Study In this study, I examine US masculinities as represented in four performance art monologues staged on Broadway from 1984 to 1998. Below, then, I discuss the subject areas of performance art monologues, the social-aesthetic expectations of Broadway productions, and masculinities. The performance art monologue has multiple definitions because there are multiple antecedents and, in turn, manifestations of the genre. The traditions of platform reading, stand-up comedy, and avant-garde aesthetics as they inform contemporary performance, performance art, autobiography and autoperformance contribute to the genre as elucidated by scholars Michael Peterson, John Gentile, and Michael Kirby. 1 In Straight White Male: Performance Art Monologues, Michael Peterson defines the performance art monologue as "a highly concentrated, rarefied cultural production that depends on and participates in the construction of contemporary identity" (6). For Peterson, the genre is comprised of solo performances where the material is drawn from and may reproduce or possibly recode commonplace cultural types and identities. Frequently, these popular types are filtered through an autobiographical