What a Drag!
In the Library Special Collections Sheet Music Collection, which consists of approximately 100,000 pieces of popular American music, you can find pieces of sheet music that feature images of very popular and proper women who made their living performing as men on the British music hall and American vaudeville stages.
These publications date from the late 19th century through the early 20th century, as such performances declined in popularity when faced with the competition of talking motion pictures.
Today’s use of the term drag leads the viewer to misunderstanding the goals of these early cross-dressing women. Today their performances are understood as challenges to the traditional understanding of sex and gender. These performances were simply seen as one type among many that portrayed some sort of illusion or magic.
Some of these female male impersonators who can be found in the collection are: Claire Romaine (known as London’s Pet Boy), Grace Leonard, Hetty King (real name Winifred Emms), Florence Tempest, and Vesta Tilley (real name Matilda Alice Powles).
By Peggy Alexander, Curator of Performing Arts
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
As May ends and June begins, we should reflect upon the importance of this past month as Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month. In 1992, May was designated by the United States government as APA Heritage Month, in remembrance of the trials and triumphs of those of Asian-descent in U.S. history. UCLA Library Special Collections possesses numerous holdings which reflect this past Though the majority of these collections primarily originate from the 20th century, APAs have played a significant part in this country’s multi-faceted, multicultural past since the mid-19th century—and in certain cases, even prior to that. Presently, as the fastest growing racial group in the U.S., increasingly many APAs will want to look to their heritage, through materials such as these and the stories they signify, as they help shape the future of America. The following are a sampling of the collections at UCLA:
Yuichi Hitata, photographed by Ansel Adams
Hitata was an internee at the Manzanar War Relocation Center in the Owens Valley in Central California. Sympathetic to the plight of Japanese Americans, Adam chose to portray his subjects as figures of empowerment rather than figures of victimization. (Manzanar War Relocation Center records, 1942-1946; Collection 122.)
Political and social activist pins from the 1960s and 1970s.
Juxtaposed against the campaign buttons, which reflect traditional modes of vying for political power, are the activist pins showing support for ideas of anti-war, anti-racism, and for farm labor representation. Of note are the buttons from the Asian American Movement, also known as the “Yellow Power Movement,” which ultimately contributed to the establishment of ethnic studies programs at colleges and universities across the country, including UCLA. (Steve Louie Asian American Movement Collection, 1930-1980; Collection 1805.)
Screen shot of MiniDV recording of the Pakaraguian Kulintang Ensemble performing a Southeast Asian form of music and dance conducted through gong and drum.
This performance in particular exhibits the Filipino form of Kulintang. Performed outside a commercial shopping outlet in Los Angeles, this image illustrates the cultural diversity of the city’s residents in an urban environment. (Collection 2003.5: Archiving Filipino American Music in Los Angeles Collection, 1980-2004. Care of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive.) By Annie Tang, Association of Research Libraries/Society of American Archivists Mosaic Fellow
