Girlie Show Webinar

Service Description

In 1939-1940, a World’s Fair was held in what is now Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens. The Fair was designed to stimulate the local economy, which was still feeling the effects of the Great Depression. Unfortunately, four months after the Fair opened, World War II broke out, causing the Fair to be a financial failure. This webinar tells the story of a related conflict that occurred in the shadows of World War II: the fight over “girlie shows” (burlesque) at the Fair. Girlie shows had been an integral part of World’s Fairs since the “dance du ventre” (belly dancing) was introduced to Western audiences at the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. But at the 1939-40 Fair, economic reality ran head-on into traditional morality. Drawing extensively from the Fair’s long-hidden archive of “Nudity and Morality Issues,” this webinar will cover (and uncover): • The puritanical police commissioner who vowed to keep girlie shows out of the Fair. • The businesslike banker who insisted the less clothing the better. • The daring ecdysiast who saved the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago, and tried to do the same for New York. • The historic hootchy-kootchy dancer who inspired a number one hit single in the 1960s. • The pioneering peeler who gave her all for the USO during World War II. • The anarchic artist who created the world’s first immersive 3D erotic art installation. • The debauched designer who created the world’s first live streaming peepshow. Find out what your grandparents never told you about the Fair. And remember, what happens in the Amusement Area stays in the Amusement Area!