Jumping Through Hoops: Performing Gender in the 19th Century Circus
Coming in 2025 from Feminist Press!
Jumping Through Hoops is a book about the unusual performing women of the nineteenth century – wire-walkers, bearded ladies, strongwomen, conjoined twins and more – and how these extraordinary outliers used their variable bodies to shape our modern understanding of gender, culture, and performance. Circus performers who walked on tightrope across waterfalls, rode horseback in drag, caught bullets, and performed feats of electrical magic did more than just entertain crowds: they used spectacular skills, unusual bodies, and larger-than-life personalities to embrace the unusual and challenge the public idea of what femininity can be.
Circus and Sideshow in the Long 19th Century: A Documentary History
Forthcoming from Routledge
This collection will bring together a series of documents derived from archives, journals, newspapers, out-of-print books, and other written materials pertaining to the circus during the long-nineteenth century (1789-1919). I’m a co-editor for the series volumes on North American circus.
Fast Famous Women
Gina Barreca, editor; Woodhall Press (2025)
For centuries, women in the public eye have shaped their own visions of a woman’s life, talents, role, and possibilities. For this nonfiction collection, I wrote about how Annie Oakley was as sharp in a courtroom as she was with a rifle.