Jumping Through Hoops

The hidden history of female performers whose death-defying acts broke boundaries and challenged gender stereotypes in the heyday of the American traveling circus

Women and gender-nonconforming performers dazzled nineteenth-century audiences in the sideshow and under the big top, exhibited as wire-walkers, bearded ladies, strongwomen, conjoined twins, electric women, and more. But while modern audiences know the names of circus legends like P. T. Barnum and General Tom Thumb, the stories of many of these ground-breaking performing women have been recorded as barely a footnote in circus history.

In this deeply researched book, Emmy Award–winning circus historian Betsy Golden Kellem deftly explores how the beginning of modern mass-media culture, changes in technology and transportation, and cultural shifts in the United States impacted the circus, and how circus artists shaped our modern understanding of gender, race, disability, and popular culture in America. With fascinating stories and rare archival imagery, Jumping Through Hoops gives these extraordinary performers their rightful place in circus history, illuminating how they broke barriers while entertaining the masses in the heyday of the uniquely American traveling circus.