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Moral Reform and the Rise of the Burlesque Industry in London, Ontario University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 1999 Moral reform and the rise of the burlesque industry in London, Ontario. Kelly MacDonald University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Recommended Citation MacDonald, Kelly, "Moral reform and the rise of the burlesque industry in London, Ontario." (1999). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2779. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/2779 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). Under this license, works must always be attributed to the copyright holder (original author), cannot be used for any commercial purposes, and may not be altered. Any other use would require the permission of the copyright holder. Students may inquire about withdrawing their dissertation and/or thesis from this database. For additional inquiries, please contact the repository administrator via email ([email protected]) or by telephone at 519-253-3000ext. 3208. NOTE TO USERS Page(s) not included in the original manuscript and are unavailable from the author or university. The manuscript was scanned as received. 61 This reproduction is the best copy available. ® UMI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. MORAL REFORM AND THE RISE OF THE BURLESQUE INDUSTRY IN LONDON, ONTARIO by Kelly MacDonald A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research Through the Department of Sociology and Anthropology in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario 1999 (c) 1999 Kelly MacDonald Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 0-494-00129-1 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 0-494-00129-1 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce,Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve,sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet,distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform,et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be includedBien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. i * i Canada Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE UNIVERSITY OF WINDSOR FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION 'Dr. Suzan Ilcan Advisor Dr. Jackie Lewis Department of Sociology and Anthropology Dr. Christina Simmons Chair Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT This study examines the various ways that the reform movement contributed to the rise of the burlesque industry in London, Ontario, during the period of 1885 to 1917. The purpose of this research is to draw attention to the uneven and contradictory ways that the behaviour of burlesque dancers and other wage-earning women were regulated. Moving beyond the stated aims of moral reform groups and their campaigns, this thesis focuses on the regulatory techniques used to control women at the turn of the century. Analysis of theatre programs, promotional advertisements, press releases, local newspapers and other accounts, highlights the ways that burlesque dancers and single wage-earning women were morally regulated. It is argued that middle class moral reform groups constructed an agenda that would protect and secure their social, political and economic interests in the name of morality. This research, however, reveals that these women were the victims of moral corruption, not by male procurers or the temptations of city life, but by reformers themselves. The moral reform campaign invented the category of female delinquent to legitimate the constant examination of women's moral characters. London moral reformers did more to produce and maintain images of women as sexual delinquents than to prevent them from sexual danger. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank Dr. Suzan Ilcan and Dr. Jackie Lewis whose efforts have given me the encouragement and drive to pursue this thesis. Dr. Ilcan has been an advisor, an incisive critic and a generous friend through good times and sad ones. Dr. Lewis must be acknowledged for her editorial skills and comments which were always thought provoking and greatly appreciated. I could not have written this thesis without them. I would also like to take the time to thank Dr. Christina Simmons, who made many helpful comments on my work and inspired me greatly as a feminist historian. I would like to thank the numerous archivists, librarians and staff at the Regional Room in the D.B. Weldon Library at the University of Western Ontario where the bulk of this research was done. Special thanks to John Lutman, the director of the Regional Room, who was extremely generous in sharing his knowledge of London history with me and for helping me find the disparate materials used in this work. I am also grateful to Teresa Hyland and Jacques McCarthy for their editorial assistance. Teresa nursed me through writer's block and always, through her unrealistic estimation of my writing abilities, inspires me to improve. I am very thankful for the countless hours she spent with me teaching me how to write. Numerous other friends and colleagues offered me unending moral support during the writing stage of this thesis. I would especially like to thank Dr. Hammond for performing a miracle and helping me through the toughest battle of my life. Nancy Mackenzie for always raising my spirits and making me laugh. To my family who supported me in every way and made me believe that I was capable of any task. Finally, I would like to thank Darryl for always being there for me over the last ten years and for giving me the love and encouragement to succeed. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. MORAL REFORM AND THE RISE OF THE BURLESQUE INDUSTRY IN LONDON, ONTARIO 1885 TO 1917. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..........................................................................................iv INTRODUCTION: "What is Burlesque?"..................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL ORIENTATION:................................................ 10 MORAL REFORM AND THE REGULATION OF BURLESQUE CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY......................................................................... 34 CHAPTER THREE: THE EARLY STAGES OF BURLESQUE..............................47 1. Burlesque at the Turn of the Century 2. Legitimate Theatre 3. Illegitimate Theatre 4. The Western Fair CHAPTER FOUR: STRATEGIES USED TO REGULATE..................................... 76 BURLESQUE DANCERS AND SINGLE WAGE-EARNING WOMEN 1. London Newspapers 2. Community Regulation and Local Gossip 3. Legal Regulation and Public Shame 4. Censorship Committees CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................90 WORKS CITED.............................................................................................................96 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 Introduction: What is Burlesque? This study examines the various ways that the moral views and regulatory practices of the moral reform movement
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