“We are all ladies and gentlemen, and we act so. None of us are frights.”
Charles Tripp
The above listed quote is the thesis of this blog and the motto of its author. I’m Abby Adams, and I am the author of this blog. I am an undergraduate student at Washington and Jefferson College majoring in English and Communication arts. This blog is being written for a 300-level English course, but it is also being written out of a deep respect and admiration for sideshow performers. The blog’s title “Prodigies!” comes from The Protective Order of Prodigies, a conference of sideshow performers from the turn of the century which was formed to protest the use of the word “freaks” to describe sideshow performers. This blog aims to give these performers the dignity they are often denied and to provide their history to those unfamiliar. This blog will feature posts like:
- Biographies of historic sideshow performers
- Opinions on sideshow related media
- Histories of famous sideshows
- Op-eds about sideshow practices
- And more!
Check back in for more posts as this blog goes and remember to enjoy the show!
Prodigies! A Sideshow History Blog 