Pansy Craze

The Pansy Craze was an American LGBT movement from 1930 until 1933,[1][2] during which drag queens, known as "pansy performers", experienced a surge in underground popularity, especially in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco. The exact dates of the movement are debated, with a range from the late 1920s until 1935.[1][3][4]

History

The pre-history of the Pansy Craze was rooted in Harlem's Hamilton Lodge masquerade balls in 1869.[5][2][6]

In the 1920s, cabarets and speakeasies featuring female impersonators or drag performers were opened in many cities internationally including in New York, Paris, London, Berlin, and San Francisco.[2][7] Venues that featured this entertainment were enjoyed by all people, which gave LGBT people a cover.[8]

The term “pansy craze,” was coined by the historian George Chauncey in the book "Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940" (Basic Books, 1994).[3][9][10][11] The center of the Pansy Craze is also debated, either in New York City,[8] or Chicago;[6] but it had existed in many other United States cities.

Performer Gene Malin is considered the "Queen of the Pansy Craze", he worked primarily in New York City starting in 1930.[2][12] Malin had ditched wearing gowns and started performing in tuxedos and top hats, as a high-camp gay man.[2] Many acts of the time impersonated Malin's dress style and demeanor but added their own spin, including Gladys Bentley.[2] Bruz Fletcher was a high society gay singer and piano man, working primarily Los Angeles within the Pansy Craze.[7][13][14]

The Pansy Craze culture grew, but was also negatively affected by Prohibition, forcing clubs to close.[2] Malin died in 1933, which had signaled the ending of the movement.[2]

Legacy

Although the Pansy Craze broadened the range of acceptable behaviors for men, in its aftermath feminine-coded men became more vulnerable to violence as sexuality, gender, and performance became further codified.[15] The aspects of singing style, dress, or gesture that performers had played with became indicative of personal identity, rather than performance style.[15]

See also

References
  1. Imig, Nate (June 6, 2022). "Tracing the roots of Wisconsin's drag history, dating back to the 1880s". Radio Milwaukee. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  2. Bullock, Darryl W. (2017-09-14). "Pansy Craze: the wild 1930s drag parties that kickstarted gay nightlife". The Guardian. ISSN 1756-3224. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  3. Halley, Catherine (2020-01-29). "Four Flowering Plants That Have Been Decidedly Queered". JSTOR Daily. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  4. "Pansy Craze". PBS LearningMedia. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  5. Stabbe, Oliver (2016-03-30). "Queens and queers: The rise of drag ball culture in the 1920s". National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  6. Fleeson, Lucinda (June 27, 2007). "The Gay '30s". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  7. "The Pansy Craze: When gay nightlife in Los Angeles really kicked off". KCRW. 2018-05-11. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  8. Pruitt, Sarah. "How Gay Culture Blossomed During the Roaring Twenties". History. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  9. Cohen, Lizabeth; Chauncey, George (September 1997). "Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940". The Journal of American History. 84 (2): 685. doi:10.2307/2952659. ISSN 0021-8723. JSTOR 2952659.
  10. "The Work of George Chauncey, LGBTQ Historian and Kluge Prize Honoree September 27, 2022 By Neely Tucker". Yonkers Tribune. 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  11. Heap, Chad (2008-11-15). Slumming: Sexual and Racial Encounters in American Nightlife, 1885-1940. University of Chicago Press. p. 319. ISBN 978-0-226-32245-2.
  12. "Jean Malin: Queen of the pansies | American Masters | PBS". American Masters. 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  13. Grey, Charlie. "Listen: This campy star of the '30s Pansy Craze was gloriously shady and super gay". Queerty. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  14. "Bruz Fletcher: Remembering a Gay Voice". www.tyleralpern.com. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  15. McCracken, Allison (2015). Real men don't sing : crooning in American culture. Durham. ISBN 978-0-8223-5917-3. OCLC 894746159.

Further reading
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