AbstractsWomens Studies

Stage acts in twentieth-century film highlight how female performers use fashion as a vehicle for expressing gender and sexuality. The tendency to use the stage as a platform to challenge established norms shows how they communicate feminist ideals and race relations through styles of costume and acting. My analysis of Marlene Dietrich’s, Tina Turner’s, and Madonna’s subversive experimentations in in musical performance settings demonstrates the centrality of fashion for the portrayal of gender and sexuality in film. Their provocative ways of dressing and acting unveil the role on-stage performances play in liberating women and representing gender and sexuality on a spectrum as opposed to two extremes.