Gender representation in circus arts: a case study

Abstract

Using a well-known London-based newsletter for circus artists, this research uses discourse analysis to interrogate how gender is represented in contemporary circus and seeks to answer three questions posed at the Roundhouse Gender Salon in London 2016: ‘is circus too heteronormative?’, why are there ‘so many all-male circus companies?’ and can ‘a woman ever enjoy the same privileges and opportunities in the industry as a man?’ The article reveals that heteronormativity is demonstrated within the selected newsletters as evidenced by the description of men as strong and women as ‘mothers’ and by the mainly heterosexual characterisations of women. The final Roundhouse Salon question posits that men are more privileged than women in the circus industry; however, by interrogating the data it becomes clear that this oversimplifies notions of gender, privilege and opportunity. Ultimately the paper calls for further research into gender representation in the sector. In recent years, many questions have been raised about the roles of women in the circus industry. Whilst this is important, it is not possible to conduct an informed debate about the portrayal and position of women, or men, without data, to help substantiate or contradict prevailing views on these subjects. The article concludes with the point that continuing to rely solely on anecdotal evidence risks creating a biased understanding of gender in circus, whereby subjective views are confused with objective reality.

Keywords:

• circus
• gender
• representation
• performance

Notes

2 I intended to access one year’s worth of data. However, the marketing team at the NCCA did not begin to retain and store the newsletters until November 2015.

3 Some applications for commissions for an artist in residence were in the ‘jobs’ section and others in the ‘opportunities’ section. To maintain clear and fair findings I have included all such posts in the ‘opportunities’ section.

4 Due to the timeframe of the study, it may be that certain jobs offered in the ‘jobs’ section are then cast and performed in the ‘things to see’ section.

5 The six posts which I did not contact were either due to their contact details being incorrect on the advert or my receiving a return email specifying that the email was invalid.

6 Of these 11, there were additional responses, including that the gig did not go ahead, that there was no response to the advert, or that the employer had offered the post but did not hold the data.

7 The descriptions specifying a performer are labelled (p) in Table 1 and those specifying a character are labelled (c).

8 It is worth noting that this figure would be higher if the NCCA staff member had not vetted the posts before they were published.

9 The job adverts are in some cases asking for a performer who is ‘a mother’ so as to draw on her own experience, and in other cases asking for a performer who is playing the character of a mother.

10 All ACDC Newsletters are available within the ACDC department of the NCCA and are held as word documents. The website is regularly updated, therefore the reader will not find past newsletters online. The date is cited in the body of this paper but not the bibliography. If access to these documents is required, the reader can contact staff in the ACDC department with the date of the newsletter.

11 Whilst there are more noted female performers within the marketing texts, there may have been a vastly different gender split within the performances themselves. Many shows did not offer an idea as to the gender of the performers.

12 We may have seen more references to ‘sexy’ women in the ‘jobs’ section had they not been edited out before publication.