1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910778412603321

Autore

Oliver M. Cynthia

Titolo

Queen of the Virgins [[electronic resource] ] : pageantry and black womanhood in the Caribbean / / M. Cynthia Oliver

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Jackson, : University Press of Mississippi, c2009

ISBN

1-282-48595-4

9786612485954

1-60473-348-9

Edizione

[First printing 2009.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (201 p.)

Collana

Caribbean studies series

Disciplina

306.4/613

Soggetti

Beauty contests - Virgin Islands of the United States

Beauty contestants - Virgin Islands of the United States

Women, Black - Virgin Islands of the United States

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction: Situating the Virgin Islands-A Caribbean Nation, a U.S. Colony; PART ONE. THE BEFORE-TIME QUEENS; 1. "Fan Me": Imperial versus Caribbean Femininities, 1493-1940; 2. The New Queen: Pageantry and Policy, 1930-1950; 3. Progress Makes a Model Queen: The Birth of Tourism, 1950-1960s; PART TWO. DE JUS NOW (MODERN) QUEENS; 4. The Main Event: Miss U.S. Virgin Islands 1999, "The Essence of the Caribbean"; 5. Promotional Presentations and the Selling of the Native: The Queen Represents; PART THREE. I COME;  YOU AH COME (I HAVE ARRIVED;  YOU WILL ARRIVE)

6. The Big Business of Queenship: A Competitive Edge?7. Audience, Appetites, and Drama: The Mystery of Pageantry; Conclusion: Re-Situating the Caribbean with Womanhood Front and Center; Notes; Bibliography; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W

Sommario/riassunto

Beauty pageants are wildly popular in the U.S. Virgin Islands, outnumbering any other single performance event and capturing the attention of the local people from toddlers to seniors. Local beauty contests provide women opportunities to demonstrate talent, style, the



values of black womanhood, and the territory's social mores. Queen of the Virgins: Pageantry and Black Womanhood in the Caribbean is a comprehensive look at the centuries-old tradition of these expressions in the Virgin Islands. M. Cynthia Oliver maps the trajectory of pageantry from its colonial precursors at tea meetings, dance