Carnival in Alabama: Marked Bodies and Invented Traditions in Mobile

Mobile is a typical and unique city in the postwar United States, with a history of urban decline, revitalization, and socioeconomic developments. Carnival in Alabama explores the experience of marked bodies outside of Mardi Gras organizations, including street maskers, laborers, and neighborhood cookouts, and investigates power dynamics through culture and ritual. It looks at the roles assigned, inaccessible to, or claimed and appropriated by African American men and women and people who defied gender and sexuality normativity in the festivities.

Format: Hardback
Length: 277 pages
Publication date: 27 January 2023
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi

Mobile, a city in the postwar United States, stands as a remarkable and distinctive urban landscape. During World War II, it experienced a remarkable boom, symbolizing prosperity and growth. However, this prosperity was soon followed by a rapid decline, leading to efforts to revitalize (or gentrify) its downtown area. Similar to many other US cities, urban renewal, integration, and socioeconomic developments led to white flight, marginalized the African American population, and set the stage for the development of LGBTQ+ community building and subculture. Despite these often segregated segments of society, Mobile's annual Carnival celebration brought them together, forging a shared identity as the "Carnival City."

Carnival in Alabama delves into the diverse experiences of individuals involved in Mardi Gras organizations, encompassing race, gender, and sexual orientation. It also explores the experiences of marked bodies outside these organizations, as well as individuals who engage with Carnival through their labor or as spectators (or publics) of the spectacle. By expanding the definition of Mobile's Carnival tradition beyond official pageantry, the book includes street maskers, laborers, and neighborhood cookouts, thus highlighting the broader cultural and social aspects of this celebration.

Through a meticulous investigation of archival sources and oral history interviews, this book aims to understand the complex power dynamics at play during the festivities. It specifically focuses on the roles assigned, inaccessible to, or claimed and appropriated by straight-identified African American men and women, as well as individuals who defied gender and sexuality normativity. By examining Carnival as an invented tradition and a semiotic system associated with discourses of power, the book contributes to a transnational conversation about this phenomenon.

Mobile's Carnival celebration serves as a powerful lens through which to examine power dynamics and cultural expressions. By exploring the intersection of race, gender, sexuality, and social identities, this book offers valuable insights into the complexities of urban life, social movements, and the construction of collective identities. It sheds light on the ways in which culture and ritual can shape power relationships and contribute to the broader understanding of society.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781496842589