Becoming Dusty: The purpose of self-transformation in an era of repression
Keywords:
Dusty Springfield, Camp Icons, Performativity, Celebrity Persona, Queer Theory, LGBTQ Studies, Queer History, Sixties MusicAbstract
Throughout the 1960s, self-transformation allowed the closeted aspect of Dusty Springfield’s persona to not only be an outlet; but an identity. Springfield created a queer persona during an age where lesbianism, lacking the criminal status and culminative glamour of male homosexuality, remained less visible and understood. This essay focuses on the tools that Springfield used to express her marginality and how she made her ‘transgressive’ identity apparent to certain audiences. Springfield subverted fixed ideas of identity by incorporating tactics of camp, drag, diva status, and musical genre into her presentation and identity. These actions reinforced her status as a ‘camp icon,’ providing catharses for both herself and her queer audience. Springfield’s re-fashioning of self exposes gender and sexuality as cultural codes which rely on imitation, lacking any essential truth.
References
Primary Sources: Written Sources
• ‘Dusty only wants to be with Alden,’ Daily Mirror, 24 February 1964.
• ‘Dusty, The Half-Hippie,’ Daily Mirror, 16 August 1967.
• Springfield, Dusty, (original: Inez and Charlie Foxx), ‘Mockingbird,’ A Girl Called Dusty, Philips Records, (April 1964), via YouTube, (://youtu.be/T4izp99XfqI). [Accessed 20 March].
• Springfield, Dusty, ‘The Melody Maker’s Pop Think-in,’ Melody Maker, November 1965.
Secondary Sources
• Abrams, Mark, The Teenage Consumer, (London, 1959).
• Apolloni, Alexandra Marie, ‘Wishin’ and Hopin’: Femininity, Whiteness and Voice in 1960s British Pop,’ Doctoral Thesis, University of California, (Los Angeles, 2013), p.1-227.
• Back, Les, ‘Out of Sight: Southern Music and the Colouring of Sound,’ in Back, Les, Ware, Vron, Out of Whiteness: Colour, Politics and Culture by (Chicago, 2002).
• Bergman, David, Camp grounds: style and homosexuality, (Massachusetts, 1994).
• Brett, Philip, Wood, Elizabeth, ‘Lesbian and Gay Music,’ Revista Eletrônica de Musicologia, VII, (2002), pp.1-31.
• Butler, Judith, ‘Imitation and Gender Insubordination,’ in John Storey, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader, (Georgia, 2008).
• Calhoun, Cheshire, ‘Separating Lesbian Theory from Feminist Theory,’ in McCann, Carole R, Kim, Seung-Kyung, (eds), Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives, (New York, 2003), in Randall, Annie J. Dusty! Queen of the Mods, (Oxford, 2009).
• Carbery, Rebecca, ‘Queer Genders: Problematising Gender through Contemporary Photography,’ Master Thesis, Durham University, (Durham, 2011), in Doris Leibeseder, Subversive Strategies in rock and pop music, (Surrey, 2012).
• Charlesworth, Chris, author’s interview, (2011), in Glen, Patrick, ‘Oh You Pretty Thing!’: How David Bowie ‘Unlocked Everybody’s Inner Queen’ in spite of the music press,’ Contemporary British History, (2016), pp. 1-23.
• Cohan, Steven, Incongruous Entertainment, (Durham, 2005).
• Connolly, Ray ‘Dusty Springfield,’ Evening Standard, 17 September 1970, via Ray Connolly, (://www.rayconnolly.co.uk/dusty-springfield/) [accessed 15 March].
• Coppa, Francesca, ‘A Perfectly Developed Playwright Joe Orton and Homosexual Reform,’ in Smith, Patricia Juliana, The Queer Sixties, (New York, 1999).
• Drezner, Renée, ‘A Celebration of the Camp Performances of Dusty Springfield and Dolly Parton,’ (unpublished), pp.1-13.
• Dyer, Richard, Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society, (London, 2004).
• Farmer, B, ‘The fabulous sublimity of gay diva worship’ Camera Obscura 59, 20:2, (2005), pp.165-195.
• Frith, Simon, Music for pleasure: essays in the sociology of pop, (London, 1988), in Patrick, Adele, ‘A taste for excess: disdained and dissident forms of fashioning femininity,’ PhD Thesis, University of Stirling, (Stirling, 2004), pp. 1-289.
• Glen, Patrick, ‘Oh You Pretty Thing!’: How David Bowie ‘Unlocked Everybody’s Inner Queen’ in spite of the music press,’ Contemporary British History, (2016), pp. 1-23.
• Grieg, Charlotte, Will you still love me tomorrow? Girl Groups from the 50s on… (London, 1989).
• Halberstam, Judith, The Queer Art of Failure, (London, 2011), in Patrick Glen, ‘Oh You Pretty Thing!’: How David Bowie ‘Unlocked Everybody’s Inner Queen’ in spite of the music press,’ Contemporary British History, (2016), pp.1-23.
• Hoerburger, Rob, ‘Dusty Rides Again,’ New York Times Magazine, October 29 1995, in Annie J. Randall, Dusty! Queen of the Mods, (Oxford, 2009).
• Howard, John, Men Like That: A Southern Queer History, (Chicago, 1989).
• Koestenbam, Wayne, The Queen’s Throat: Opera, Homosexuality, and the Mystery of Desire, (New York, 1993).
• Meyer, Moe, ‘Reclaiming the Discourse of Camp,’ in Benshoff, Harry M., Griffin, Sean, (eds), Queer Cinema: the film reader, (New York, 2004).
• Miller, DA, The Novel and the Police (Berkeley, 1988), in Brett, Philip, Wood, Elizabeth, ‘Lesbian and Gay Music’, Revista Eletrônica de Musicologia, VII, (2002), pp.1-31.
• O’Brien, Lucy, Dusty: A Biography of Dusty Springfield, (London, 1999).
• Patrick, Adele, ‘A taste for excess: disdained and dissident forms of fashioning femininity,’ PhD Thesis, University of Stirling, (Stirling, 2004,) pp.1-289.
• ‘Profile: Dusty Springfield, I only want to be with me,’ Scotland on Sunday, 15 February 1998, in Adele Patrick, ‘A taste for excess: disdained and dissident forms of fashioning femininity,’ PhD Thesis, University of Stirling, (Stirling, 2004,) pp.1-289.
• Randall, Annie J. Dusty! Queen of the Mods, (Oxford, 2009).
• Sontag, Susan, ‘Notes on camp,’ in Against Interpretation, (New York, 1966).
• Smith, Patricia Juliana, ‘Divas,’ GLBTQ: An encyclopaedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, (2006), p.2, in Young, Nancy J., ‘A Mirror of Recognition: How the Empathetic Relationship Between Dusty Springfield and Her Not-Straight Fans Facilitates their Identity Development,’ Educational Studies Dissertations. 50, (2012).
• Smith, Patricia Juliana, The Queer Sixties, (New York, 1999).
• Taylor, Jodie, Popular Music, Identity and Queer World-Making, (Oxford, 2012,) in Patrick Glen, ‘Oh You Pretty Thing!’: How David Bowie ‘Unlocked Everybody’s Inner Queen’ in spite of the music press,’ Contemporary British History, (2016), pp.1-23.
• Valentine, Penny, and Wickham, Vicki, Dancing with demons, the authorized biography of Dusty Springfield, (London, 2000).
• Wilmer, Val, Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This: My Life in the Jazz World, (London, 1989), in Smith, Patricia Juliana, The Queer Sixties, (New York, 1999).
• Young, Nancy J., ‘A Mirror of Recognition: How the Empathetic Relationship Between Dusty Springfield and Her Not-Straight Fans Facilitates their Identity Development,’ Educational Studies Dissertations. 50, (2012), pp. 1-293.
• ‘Dusty only wants to be with Alden,’ Daily Mirror, 24 February 1964.
• ‘Dusty, The Half-Hippie,’ Daily Mirror, 16 August 1967.
• Springfield, Dusty, (original: Inez and Charlie Foxx), ‘Mockingbird,’ A Girl Called Dusty, Philips Records, (April 1964), via YouTube, (://youtu.be/T4izp99XfqI). [Accessed 20 March].
• Springfield, Dusty, ‘The Melody Maker’s Pop Think-in,’ Melody Maker, November 1965.
Secondary Sources
• Abrams, Mark, The Teenage Consumer, (London, 1959).
• Apolloni, Alexandra Marie, ‘Wishin’ and Hopin’: Femininity, Whiteness and Voice in 1960s British Pop,’ Doctoral Thesis, University of California, (Los Angeles, 2013), p.1-227.
• Back, Les, ‘Out of Sight: Southern Music and the Colouring of Sound,’ in Back, Les, Ware, Vron, Out of Whiteness: Colour, Politics and Culture by (Chicago, 2002).
• Bergman, David, Camp grounds: style and homosexuality, (Massachusetts, 1994).
• Brett, Philip, Wood, Elizabeth, ‘Lesbian and Gay Music,’ Revista Eletrônica de Musicologia, VII, (2002), pp.1-31.
• Butler, Judith, ‘Imitation and Gender Insubordination,’ in John Storey, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader, (Georgia, 2008).
• Calhoun, Cheshire, ‘Separating Lesbian Theory from Feminist Theory,’ in McCann, Carole R, Kim, Seung-Kyung, (eds), Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives, (New York, 2003), in Randall, Annie J. Dusty! Queen of the Mods, (Oxford, 2009).
• Carbery, Rebecca, ‘Queer Genders: Problematising Gender through Contemporary Photography,’ Master Thesis, Durham University, (Durham, 2011), in Doris Leibeseder, Subversive Strategies in rock and pop music, (Surrey, 2012).
• Charlesworth, Chris, author’s interview, (2011), in Glen, Patrick, ‘Oh You Pretty Thing!’: How David Bowie ‘Unlocked Everybody’s Inner Queen’ in spite of the music press,’ Contemporary British History, (2016), pp. 1-23.
• Cohan, Steven, Incongruous Entertainment, (Durham, 2005).
• Connolly, Ray ‘Dusty Springfield,’ Evening Standard, 17 September 1970, via Ray Connolly, (://www.rayconnolly.co.uk/dusty-springfield/) [accessed 15 March].
• Coppa, Francesca, ‘A Perfectly Developed Playwright Joe Orton and Homosexual Reform,’ in Smith, Patricia Juliana, The Queer Sixties, (New York, 1999).
• Drezner, Renée, ‘A Celebration of the Camp Performances of Dusty Springfield and Dolly Parton,’ (unpublished), pp.1-13.
• Dyer, Richard, Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society, (London, 2004).
• Farmer, B, ‘The fabulous sublimity of gay diva worship’ Camera Obscura 59, 20:2, (2005), pp.165-195.
• Frith, Simon, Music for pleasure: essays in the sociology of pop, (London, 1988), in Patrick, Adele, ‘A taste for excess: disdained and dissident forms of fashioning femininity,’ PhD Thesis, University of Stirling, (Stirling, 2004), pp. 1-289.
• Glen, Patrick, ‘Oh You Pretty Thing!’: How David Bowie ‘Unlocked Everybody’s Inner Queen’ in spite of the music press,’ Contemporary British History, (2016), pp. 1-23.
• Grieg, Charlotte, Will you still love me tomorrow? Girl Groups from the 50s on… (London, 1989).
• Halberstam, Judith, The Queer Art of Failure, (London, 2011), in Patrick Glen, ‘Oh You Pretty Thing!’: How David Bowie ‘Unlocked Everybody’s Inner Queen’ in spite of the music press,’ Contemporary British History, (2016), pp.1-23.
• Hoerburger, Rob, ‘Dusty Rides Again,’ New York Times Magazine, October 29 1995, in Annie J. Randall, Dusty! Queen of the Mods, (Oxford, 2009).
• Howard, John, Men Like That: A Southern Queer History, (Chicago, 1989).
• Koestenbam, Wayne, The Queen’s Throat: Opera, Homosexuality, and the Mystery of Desire, (New York, 1993).
• Meyer, Moe, ‘Reclaiming the Discourse of Camp,’ in Benshoff, Harry M., Griffin, Sean, (eds), Queer Cinema: the film reader, (New York, 2004).
• Miller, DA, The Novel and the Police (Berkeley, 1988), in Brett, Philip, Wood, Elizabeth, ‘Lesbian and Gay Music’, Revista Eletrônica de Musicologia, VII, (2002), pp.1-31.
• O’Brien, Lucy, Dusty: A Biography of Dusty Springfield, (London, 1999).
• Patrick, Adele, ‘A taste for excess: disdained and dissident forms of fashioning femininity,’ PhD Thesis, University of Stirling, (Stirling, 2004,) pp.1-289.
• ‘Profile: Dusty Springfield, I only want to be with me,’ Scotland on Sunday, 15 February 1998, in Adele Patrick, ‘A taste for excess: disdained and dissident forms of fashioning femininity,’ PhD Thesis, University of Stirling, (Stirling, 2004,) pp.1-289.
• Randall, Annie J. Dusty! Queen of the Mods, (Oxford, 2009).
• Sontag, Susan, ‘Notes on camp,’ in Against Interpretation, (New York, 1966).
• Smith, Patricia Juliana, ‘Divas,’ GLBTQ: An encyclopaedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, (2006), p.2, in Young, Nancy J., ‘A Mirror of Recognition: How the Empathetic Relationship Between Dusty Springfield and Her Not-Straight Fans Facilitates their Identity Development,’ Educational Studies Dissertations. 50, (2012).
• Smith, Patricia Juliana, The Queer Sixties, (New York, 1999).
• Taylor, Jodie, Popular Music, Identity and Queer World-Making, (Oxford, 2012,) in Patrick Glen, ‘Oh You Pretty Thing!’: How David Bowie ‘Unlocked Everybody’s Inner Queen’ in spite of the music press,’ Contemporary British History, (2016), pp.1-23.
• Valentine, Penny, and Wickham, Vicki, Dancing with demons, the authorized biography of Dusty Springfield, (London, 2000).
• Wilmer, Val, Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This: My Life in the Jazz World, (London, 1989), in Smith, Patricia Juliana, The Queer Sixties, (New York, 1999).
• Young, Nancy J., ‘A Mirror of Recognition: How the Empathetic Relationship Between Dusty Springfield and Her Not-Straight Fans Facilitates their Identity Development,’ Educational Studies Dissertations. 50, (2012), pp. 1-293.
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2021-12-06
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