The History of Circus Freak Shows

American and European 'Freak shows' became largely popular during the Victorian era, these shows would consist of travelling carnivals often full of disfigured or disabled entertainers who had unique abnormalities. After collecting some research I discovered that a  lot of real life circus entertainers in history who have had abnormalities and disfigurements, all similarly joined the circus to sell themselves and their abnormalities or they were discovered/scouted by the circus owner. 

Who are the Seven Sutherland sisters? 

The Seven Sutherland sisters became a very popular circus act, they all had incredibly long hair up to 37 feet in length. Their role in their circus consisted of them singing on stage and then towards then end of the song unravel their long luscious locks. The story of the Sutherland Sisters stood out to me when researching as these sisters became entrepreneurs in response to them making a career out of their disability. Due to peoples fascination with the Sisters and their extremely long hair, The Sutherland Sister's father, decided to push their career further as they would only be able to entertain people by singing for so long. So, The Sutherland Sisters created their own Hair Growth serum called the "The Sutherland Sisters Hair Grower", the business plan helped them earn as much as $90,000 but their business soon ended as long hair went out of fashion and short hair became the new trend. 

The extract below discusses the appeal, interest and fear people tend to feel and have making them finding 'Freaks', abnormalities and disabilities interesting. I also discovered that certain traits Freak show entertainers had back in history were considered freakish yet in this century we wouldn't think of them as 'Freaky' etc Obesity, Incredible Strength, Face tumors etc Elephant man. I feel that history played a large part of the appeal of 'Freak Shows', as today disabilities, abnormalities and the 'unknown' are discussed much more and payed more attention to where as in 1840's-1940's these physical abnormalities were unknown of and foreign as there hadn't been much research or investigation in order to find out what it is, instead they were fearful of the unknown labelling these entertainers as 'Freaks'. 

"Contemporary disability studies explain the appeal of freak shows as a way of indulging in cultural and social violations, such paying to leer at a morbidly obese person, and reinforcing social norms by showcasing the abnormal [source: Craton]. At the same time, a number of freak show stars wielded their disabilities to earn a healthy income and garner publicity and fame, which some scholars interpret as success stories for the time [source: Thomson]. For female freaks in particular, their presence on stage marked a distinct breach of Victorian mores. In an era when women were expected to stay close to the hearth and home, the following 10 females who took to the stage to sell their "born" deformities (i.e. surplus limbs) and "made" physical embellishments (i.e. tattoos) were particularly compelling -- and taboo." -(http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/circus-arts/10-female-sideshow-freaks.htm)

Sutherland Sisters
http://www.sideshowworld.com/13-TGOD/2010/Sutherland-Sister-A5.jpg