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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2009 Strutting it up through histories: a performance genealogy of the Philadelphia Mummers Parade Corey Elizabeth Leighton Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Leighton, Corey Elizabeth, "Strutting it up through histories: a performance genealogy of the Philadelphia Mummers Parade" (2009). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 1760. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1760 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]. STRUTTING IT UP THROUGH HISTORIES: A PERFORMANCE GENEALOGY OF THE PHILADELPHIA MUMMERS PARADE 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 in Philosophy in The Department of Communication Studies By Corey Elizabeth Leighton B.A., San Francisco State University, 2002 M.A., California State University, Los Angeles, 2005 May 2009 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you first and foremost to my advisor, Michael Bowman, without whom this would never have happened. Your playful honesty and intense attention made me want to be a better performer, scholar, and person. Thanks also to the rest of my committee who were equally as valuable to me: Ruth Bowman, whose ability to not only accept me for who I am, but also bring out the best in me allowed me to blossom as a scholar and performer; Patricia Suchy, who has pushed the boundaries of what I understood and brought a joyful romanticism to academia for me; John Fletcher, who helped me remember what brought me here and asked me to redefine the scholarly conversation so important to this project; and Monica Postelnicu, my dean‘s representative, who contributed her knowledge of representation and media to the discussion. Thanks to my family who have encouraged me when I felt defeated, supported me when I just didn‘t know, and laughed with me in my successes: To my mom, who listened to endless processing about the ideas in this dissertation and has always held me up through the journey; To my dad, who has laughed with me at the absurdity of this world; to my brother, Mark, whose sarcasm I didn‘t always understand at first, but whose support was always evident and helpful; to my niece, Mia, and my nephew, David, who helped me remember the innocent beauty of play; and to my sister, Amanda, who has been my best friend in the entire world and without whom I would not be here today. Enormous thanks to all of my mentors, colleagues, peers, and friends. Although you are far too many to name individually, your contributions have been extensive and have helped more than words could express. In particular, I want to thank: David Olsen, whose continued support of my life and career from my Masters program has helped me to make it this far; Crystal Lane Swift, whose unexpected friendship brought more to my life than I thought possible; the Writing Club, whose members made me remember the joy of scholarly conversation; the womyn at ii Michigan Womyn‘s Music Festival who are my life and my loves; the Mummers (Especially Palma and John Lucas, Dunkin, and all of the Golden Sunrise New Year‘s Association members), who not only inspired this entire study, but also reminded me to strut it out, even when I was exhausted; Zia Jamison-Frank for the awesome map; Kathi Harbeson for the backup string band picture; Pai Tama, who shared my slightly-used kidney for two short months but who will always share a piece of my heart and who I miss everyday (Good morning, sunshine!); Danielle McGeough, who acted as an editor, mentor, mentee, colleague, friend, and sister, and without whom I could not have done this. And lastly, to Angi, whose trenchant comment has summed up this project and all work to come with humor and playfulness: ―Mummers are cool! Roar!‖ iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………….……….……………………. ii ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………………………........v CHAPTER ONE LEARNING THE STEPS TO THE MUMMERS STRUT ……………....1 TWO ―OH, DEM GOLDEN SLIPPERS!‖…….……………………………… 29 THREE REAL GIRL DANCES IN MUMMERS THRONG ................................76 FOUR KING FOR A DAY ………………………………………………...….110 FIVE STRUTTING INTO THE FUTURE …..………………………………139 WORKS CITED …………………………………………………………….……..…………..156 VITA ………………………………………………………………………….……………….163 iv ABSTRACT This study examines the cultural performances of the parade community in one of the oldest and largest parades in the country: the Philadelphia Mummers Parade. The modern parade celebration consists of groups of mostly working-class white men from South Philadelphia who dress up in extravagant sequined and feathered costumes and, beginning in South Philadelphia, march toward City Hall on one of the largest streets in the city on New Year‘s Day. The parade is competitive and marked by performance competitions at the end of each parade. The parade‘s history in the city of Philadelphia is extensive but contested. Many locals know little about the parade and its community, while others debate its history and the positionality of its community within Philadelphia. Therefore, the parade community holds a precarious position in the larger Philadelphia community, which results in many questions and concerns about the role and function of the parade in contemporary Philadelphia. This study examines the cultural performances of the parade community in the Philadelphia Mummers Parade. By tracking the histories of three specific sets of performances— those of race, gender, and class— this work analyzes how both parade participants and members of the larger Philadelphia community attempt to make sense of the parade. In choosing the performances of race, gender, and class, the study looks at ways the parade community relates to these identities at various points in history, and it argues that the Mummers perform these histories, often unconsciously, on and off the parade stage. By using a cultural performance perspective, and ethnographic and historiographic methods, I assert that in this performance of history the Mummers attempt to make sense of their own identity as a community, with potentially problematic results. v Through the research stemming from the unofficial theme song, ―Oh, Dem Golden Slippers,‖ the study finds that the Mummers use a kind of strategic invisibility to distance the parade community from problematic issues in its history while maintaining legitimacy with other bits of the history. In the history of gender, a paradox with a passing form of female impersonation on one hand and an all-male performance tradition on the other causes trouble with Philadelphians‘ understandings of gender in the parade. Lastly, the city adoption of the parade in 1901 focused the parade community on the socially acceptable performances involving the financial expense and commoditization of the parade, which results in a struggle between the working class history of the community and the financial focus of the contemporary parade. The study, therefore, reveals the significance of history in the performance of community in the Philadelphia Mummers Community. vi CHAPTER ONE LEARNING THE STEPS TO THE MUMMERS STRUT Introduction January 1, 2009; 11:30am: I make my way through crowds of people, making sure to keep an eye on the Golden Sunrise New Year‘s Association, with whom I am marching. We head north on Broad Street in Center City Philadelphia in the 2009 Philadelphia Mummers Parade. As the parade performers slow and stop around Locust Street, I take the chance to talk to some parade spectators. I stand next to a small family for a minute, trying to listen to their conversation for clues as to who they are. Finally, I turn to the woman—a thirty-something woman, clearly bundled for the freezing weather. I ask her if they are from the area or how they heard of the Mummers. She tells me that she grew up here and that her family was in for the holidays, so she wanted to bring her kids to see the parade. ―I don‘t get it, but it‘s pretty,‖ she says. Her husband chimes in, ―I really don‘t get it! I grew up in Southern New Jersey [about thirty minutes away from Philadelphia], and I had heard of it, but I really don‘t get it. It‘s just weird.‖ The kids nod as they shiver and seem to look to me for answers. I thank them, and move on with the parade. I ask dozens more people similar questions throughout the day, with similar responses. Everyone at the parade that day seems to be either related to the Mummers or, less commonly, a voyeur who happened to be in the neighborhood on New Year‘s Day. Regardless, no one I talk to that day understands it, and I start to wonder if I understand it either, even after two years of research. – Excerpt from author‘s field notes The Philadelphia Mummers Parade is one of the oldest and largest parades in the United States (Brewster). Today‘s version of the celebration consists of groups of mostly working-class white men from South Philadelphia who dress up in extravagant sequined and feathered costumes and, beginning in South Philadelphia, march toward City Hall via one of the largest streets in the city on New Year‘s Day. At the end of the parade, individuals or small groups from the parade associations perform for a panel of judges in hopes of winning various cash prizes and the notoriety of the first place club in a particular division (Mummers.com).

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