This site requires Javascript to be turned on. Please enable Javascript and reload the page.

Further into Imperfecta Living Curiosities: Agency and Exploitation of the Teratological Body Curiosity draws us to the monstrous. But seeing is believing: whether in a book, a museum, or in a show, for centuries people have flocked to see “monsters” for themselves. In the 19th century, many people born with non-normative bodies performed as “freaks” in circus sideshows. Circuses became a sensation and they served as a forerunner to the modern entertainment industry. This exhibit explores the lives of the performers and showmen whose livelihoods depended on the public’s curiosity about seeing wondrous bodies for themselves. Seeing is Believing: Visualizing the Teratological Body When it comes to the wondrous, seeing is believing. From this page, you can explore some of the ways that “monsters” have been depicted over the centuries. Woodcuts in early modern texts, preservation in medical museums, and photography all have been used to display people. These technologies allowed one person’s image to travel across the world and allowed their subjects to “survive” beyond death. What Does It Mean to be "Other?" What does it mean to be a “monster?” What does it mean to be “normal?” These are not objective categories. They have changed meaning throughout history as people have become exposed to a wider diversity of nature, people, and ideas. From this path, you can explore some types of “Otherness” that have, throughout history, challenged apparently objective categories and shaped the direction of science.

Street Fair, Presentation of a Freak. (La Fête foraine. La Présentation d'un monstre) 1931

This page is referenced by:

"Freak Shows" After the fire in 1865, Barnum decided to pursue a new format, a traveling show of performances and wonders, of animals and humans beneath a big tent. In 1870, Barnum established his circus company which, in an 1881 merger, became Barnum and Bailey’s. The circus became an American entertainment phenomenon, and one of the most popular components of the circus was the sideshow, also called the “freak show." Audience members could pay a separate free to see people with strange bodies. Hairy women, dwarves and giants, people without arms or legs, or people with “pin heads” (microcephaly), were popular attractions.

The sideshow became a staple at fairs, circuses, and exhibitions in the late 19th century. The performers were employees of these institutions but were not paid high wages. Instead, most of the profits remained with the institution itself. Even the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago - created to celebrate scientific progress - hosted an extensive sideshow of "freaks" and exotic people on its Midway.

In sideshows, performers could engage with audience members and, to a degree, had a say in how they were displayed. Yet in these venues, performers were understood by showmen to be products to sell to audience members. Decisions about display and performance were guided by business interests.