The Big Blonde Wig, or, Why My Novel Will Be Set In the 1920's
I know that you all have been waiting for this, so without further ado...
Behold the big blonde wig. The faux fur jacket, the flapper beads, and though you can't see it, the red fringe dress. The feathers in the hair. (Though you can't tell from this picture, there are also tall black feathers in that headband thing.) This is a picture of my alter ego, Demi Monde, thanking everyone for coming to Glamorous last weekend.
I was inspired by this picture to fill you all in on why I want to write about the Twenties in the first place. Actually, I think organizing Glamorous was a big part of my inspiration. While I was doing research, I came across some interesting articles about the time period (in the U.S.). One of my favorite quotes about 'The Jazz Age':
"America is facing a most serious situation regarding its popular music. Welfare workers tell us that never in the history of our land have there been such immoral conditions among our young people, and in the surveys made by many organizations regarding these conditions, the blame is laid on jazz music … Never before have such outrageous dances been permitted in private as well as public ballrooms, and never has there been used for the accompaniment of the dance such a strange combination of tone and rhythm as that produced by the dance orchestras of today."
Other parts of the same site linked above talk about all of the changes happening during that time, the great freedoms that people experienced, the changing music, fashion, and social mores. I find it fascinating to think about what it would have been like when women started cutting off their hair, dressing in short skirts, and drinking illegal champagne while dancing til dawn. Illegal because, of course, this was during Prohibition, which I didn't even know had happened in Canada, too!
Once I started thinking about the time period, I remembered the amazing book The Art of Detection, that I discussed in an earlier blog post. This is a Kate Martinelli mystery (by author Laurie King) but in the book there is a manuscript that is clearly about Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. In this manuscript, Holmes describes going around the seedy areas of San Francisco, and into a drag club where he meets one of the premier 'female impersonators' of the age. I loved the queer content and the idea of doing a Twenties take on Seth's horror/love for the faux queen pageant featured in Rogue Intelligence. I like the thought of Seth and her friends going to underground clubs and being carefree and gay, when meanwhile, there were huge struggles for social justice going on.
This is where it gets complicated for me. I'm not really interested in exact historical accuracy, for reasons I described in an earlier post, as well. I don't want to write about a homophobic, misogynist, or racist world. Maybe avoiding those topics is naive, but I want to imagine a world in which they don't exist and to write about what that might be like. But, I'm not sure if this is a good idea. Maybe it would be more important to have my characters struggling with those issues, than to ignore it. I guess ultimately, I don't want people reading my book to be surprised and feel attacked by a sudden racist remark or some other awful thing. So I guess however I decide to handle it, I'll want it to be responsible. I hate picking up books and then within a few pages realize that the main narrator is a misogynist asshole (White Tiger, anyone?) and feel like I either have to put up with it, or put down the book. Because in those kinds of books I'm referring to, there is no hope that the narrator will learn their lesson, or will get taken down a peg for their backwards ways, etc.
Now I'm rambling, and besides, I'm late for my swing dance class. Looking forward to seeing some Esmondes and Wannabes this weekend!
Behold the big blonde wig. The faux fur jacket, the flapper beads, and though you can't see it, the red fringe dress. The feathers in the hair. (Though you can't tell from this picture, there are also tall black feathers in that headband thing.) This is a picture of my alter ego, Demi Monde, thanking everyone for coming to Glamorous last weekend.
I was inspired by this picture to fill you all in on why I want to write about the Twenties in the first place. Actually, I think organizing Glamorous was a big part of my inspiration. While I was doing research, I came across some interesting articles about the time period (in the U.S.). One of my favorite quotes about 'The Jazz Age':
"America is facing a most serious situation regarding its popular music. Welfare workers tell us that never in the history of our land have there been such immoral conditions among our young people, and in the surveys made by many organizations regarding these conditions, the blame is laid on jazz music … Never before have such outrageous dances been permitted in private as well as public ballrooms, and never has there been used for the accompaniment of the dance such a strange combination of tone and rhythm as that produced by the dance orchestras of today."
Other parts of the same site linked above talk about all of the changes happening during that time, the great freedoms that people experienced, the changing music, fashion, and social mores. I find it fascinating to think about what it would have been like when women started cutting off their hair, dressing in short skirts, and drinking illegal champagne while dancing til dawn. Illegal because, of course, this was during Prohibition, which I didn't even know had happened in Canada, too!
Once I started thinking about the time period, I remembered the amazing book The Art of Detection, that I discussed in an earlier blog post. This is a Kate Martinelli mystery (by author Laurie King) but in the book there is a manuscript that is clearly about Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. In this manuscript, Holmes describes going around the seedy areas of San Francisco, and into a drag club where he meets one of the premier 'female impersonators' of the age. I loved the queer content and the idea of doing a Twenties take on Seth's horror/love for the faux queen pageant featured in Rogue Intelligence. I like the thought of Seth and her friends going to underground clubs and being carefree and gay, when meanwhile, there were huge struggles for social justice going on.
This is where it gets complicated for me. I'm not really interested in exact historical accuracy, for reasons I described in an earlier post, as well. I don't want to write about a homophobic, misogynist, or racist world. Maybe avoiding those topics is naive, but I want to imagine a world in which they don't exist and to write about what that might be like. But, I'm not sure if this is a good idea. Maybe it would be more important to have my characters struggling with those issues, than to ignore it. I guess ultimately, I don't want people reading my book to be surprised and feel attacked by a sudden racist remark or some other awful thing. So I guess however I decide to handle it, I'll want it to be responsible. I hate picking up books and then within a few pages realize that the main narrator is a misogynist asshole (White Tiger, anyone?) and feel like I either have to put up with it, or put down the book. Because in those kinds of books I'm referring to, there is no hope that the narrator will learn their lesson, or will get taken down a peg for their backwards ways, etc.
Now I'm rambling, and besides, I'm late for my swing dance class. Looking forward to seeing some Esmondes and Wannabes this weekend!
Loving the picture. Good job!
ReplyDeleteYou know what Indigo? I think that it is completely appropriate to write about a world that isn't homophobic, sexist, racist, etc. I find that reading things like that is very upsetting, and no one would accuse you of being naive on the subject :)
Agreed. And love the photo! That wig made my day.
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