Josephine Baker Research Paper

African-American star Josephine Baker’s legacy began with performances in the 1920s and 30s, presenting both an exotic and erotic nature. From barely-there or no clothing to becoming a fashion icon, Baker swept the world by storm, especially in Paris. Her work continued to push boundaries racially, sexually, with gender, and—ultimately—with identity. However, her work would be nothing without her beginnings. Born Freda Josephine McDonald, she was brought up in St. Louis, Missouri on June 3, 1906 by previous vaudeville parents. Growing up, she worked as a child domestic cleaning homes and babysitting children of white families in order to help fund the family. After becoming a waitress, young Josephine would find time to watch vaudeville shows

The Jones Family Band noticed her and asked her to dance and perform comic routines in one of their acts until the Dixie Steppers took up the entire band, touring them throughout the United States in 1919. While travelling, Josephine met railway porter William Howard Baker and, although it was a short marriage, she kept his last name, allowing her to be known as the infamous Josephine Baker. Through the years of performing, however, there was one show that caught her eye: Shuffle Along. The musical by African Americans Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake became a sensation on the Broadway stage, but Josephine was turned down when she auditioned for being “too thin” and “too dark” according to the writers. Here, she faced a certain identity that people were look for in the industry and in everyday life. After auditioning multiple times, a chorus member came down with a sickness and

Her home even featured life-size portraits of herself. She had built her life form the poor of St. Louis to the extravagantly rich of Europe. Despite her being chastised in America, she was the American dream, regardless of her race. After the Parisan tour of Shuffle Along, Baker premiered in La Sirène des tropiques, a scene written in French. Due to not being able to understand French at the time, she improvised her way through it and on its premiere December 30, 1927, the silent film received enthusiastic reviews, launching her film career. Through this sudden fame, her identity was altered swiftly and dramatically. The reinventions came with what she thought needed to be addressed in the world, as a sort of political message through performances. In Baker’s earlier performances, she used the idea of creating a primitive, non-Western character that was exotic to the people of Paris. The funny thing is that she was continuing to hold this tradition of entertaining white audiences, but touching upon social concerns at the same time. She was addressing the idea that people from less developed countries were these creatures in white society and the white audience—clearly—demanded to be entertained by