106
Popular Culture Review
using controversial events in their lives and their responses to these events as a
means by which to capture who they were. While the book implies that it
intends to critique autobiographies as a literary text, this intent seems to be
overshadowed by the approach of intersecting biographical information with
controversial events as a way of exploring who they really were. For example,
the chapter on Eartha Kitt addressed how she was rejected as a child and how
Kitt internalized this rejection and became combative—a skill necessary for her
survival but a skill that resulted in her being alienated from the public. This
dramatic event occurred when at a luncheon at the White House she expressed
her political views, denouncing the Vietnam War and the exploitation of young
males for this purpose. It was inevitable that Kitt’s image would be forever
marked by this event. Thus, although Dreher avoids overtly marking their
identity on the basis of these events the subtle implication that these events
become defining moments in the construction of their identities cannot be
ignored.
The book’s title becomes its underlying thematic, dancing on the white
page, suggesting that these biographical works become forms of expression for
black female entertainers who had to navigate the social and political struggles
of the entertainment world and therefore, danced around, danced with, and
sometimes danced in opposition to the restrictions imposed on them. The title
and thematic that it represents is excellent for this work, however, there are
moments in the text when it becomes overused and repetitious.
The topic is one for which little has been written, and because of the
interesting personalities and lives exposed regarding these black female
entertainers, the material presented is incredibly entertaining. Overall, this work
is one that is indeed needed, and that will add substantially to the existing body
of literature.
Charlene Regester, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill