After reading Bogdan's "The Social Construction of Freaks," it became clear to me just how popular freak shows, as a form of entertainment, were between 1840 and 1940. I remember going to Coney Island and seeing old-fashioned signs and venues where freak shows were held. Once, I even saw a modern-day type of freak show where the audience would pay to shoot the running "freak"... fun stuff, right? Well, do you think freak shows, as described in the article (disregarding any type of possible current laws outlawing them), would still be popular today? Why? Why not? Or have people finally woken up and realized just how dehumanizing these exhibits were? I resorted to Wikipedia and discovered that:
"Today, Michigan law forbids the 'exhibition [of] any deformed human being or human monstrosity, except as used for scientific purposes.' [1] However, in many states in the USA and in other countries abroad, one can still see freak shows at carnivals and state fairs, in bars and nightclubs, and on daytime television talk shows." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freak_show)
I also came across this: http://www.coneyisland.com/sideshow_school.shtml
HUH?!
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