Queen of the Virgins

Pageantry and Black Womanhood in the Caribbean

Nonfiction, History, Americas, Caribbean & West Indies, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, African-American Studies, Gender Studies, Women&
Cover of the book Queen of the Virgins by M. Cynthia Oliver, University Press of Mississippi
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: M. Cynthia Oliver ISBN: 9781604733488
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi Publication: August 3, 2009
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi Language: English
Author: M. Cynthia Oliver
ISBN: 9781604733488
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Publication: August 3, 2009
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi
Language: English

Beauty pageants are wildly popular in the U.S. Virgin Islands, outnumbering any other single performance event and capturing the attention of the local people from toddlers to seniors. Local beauty contests provide women opportunities to demonstrate talent, style, the values of black womanhood, and the territory's social mores.

Queen of the Virgins: Pageantry and Black Womanhood in the Caribbean is a comprehensive look at the centuries-old tradition of these expressions in the Virgin Islands. M. Cynthia Oliver maps the trajectory of pageantry from its colonial precursors at tea meetings, dance dramas, and street festival parades to its current incarnation as the beauty pageant or "queen show." For the author, pageantry becomes a lens through which to view the region's understanding of gender, race, sexuality, class, and colonial power.

Focusing on the queen show, Oliver reveals its twin roots in slave celebrations that parodied white colonial behavior and created creole royal rituals and celebrations heavily influenced by Africanist aesthetics. Using the U.S. Virgin Islands as an intriguing case study, Oliver shows how the pageant continues to reflect, reinforce, and challenge Caribbean cultural values concerning femininity. Queen of the Virgins examines the journey of the black woman from degraded body to vaunted queen and how this progression is marked by social unrest, growing middle-class sensibilities, and contemporary sexual and gender politics.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Beauty pageants are wildly popular in the U.S. Virgin Islands, outnumbering any other single performance event and capturing the attention of the local people from toddlers to seniors. Local beauty contests provide women opportunities to demonstrate talent, style, the values of black womanhood, and the territory's social mores.

Queen of the Virgins: Pageantry and Black Womanhood in the Caribbean is a comprehensive look at the centuries-old tradition of these expressions in the Virgin Islands. M. Cynthia Oliver maps the trajectory of pageantry from its colonial precursors at tea meetings, dance dramas, and street festival parades to its current incarnation as the beauty pageant or "queen show." For the author, pageantry becomes a lens through which to view the region's understanding of gender, race, sexuality, class, and colonial power.

Focusing on the queen show, Oliver reveals its twin roots in slave celebrations that parodied white colonial behavior and created creole royal rituals and celebrations heavily influenced by Africanist aesthetics. Using the U.S. Virgin Islands as an intriguing case study, Oliver shows how the pageant continues to reflect, reinforce, and challenge Caribbean cultural values concerning femininity. Queen of the Virgins examines the journey of the black woman from degraded body to vaunted queen and how this progression is marked by social unrest, growing middle-class sensibilities, and contemporary sexual and gender politics.

More books from University Press of Mississippi

Cover of the book Voodoo Queen by M. Cynthia Oliver
Cover of the book The Comics of Hergé by M. Cynthia Oliver
Cover of the book Faulkner and Material Culture by M. Cynthia Oliver
Cover of the book Conversations with William Maxwell by M. Cynthia Oliver
Cover of the book Archeology of Mississippi by M. Cynthia Oliver
Cover of the book Southern White Ministers and the Civil Rights Movement by M. Cynthia Oliver
Cover of the book Overseas American by M. Cynthia Oliver
Cover of the book Faulkner and His Contemporaries by M. Cynthia Oliver
Cover of the book Fear and What Follows by M. Cynthia Oliver
Cover of the book Barbara Kopple by M. Cynthia Oliver
Cover of the book Jennie Carter by M. Cynthia Oliver
Cover of the book This Woman's Work by M. Cynthia Oliver
Cover of the book Germans and African Americans by M. Cynthia Oliver
Cover of the book God of Comics by M. Cynthia Oliver
Cover of the book Return to Guntown by M. Cynthia Oliver
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy