March 8, 2002

Examining the Lives of, and Fascination With, Professional Freaks

By SCOTT MCLEMEE

Cultural-studies scholars wax rhapsodic over its subversive delights -- but "carnival" has a dark side. With its "human oddities" and exotic exhibits (not to mention the geek act), the sideshow renders transgression as cheap as the price of a ticket. But that weird energy extends well beyond the fairgrounds, according to Rachel Adams, an assistant professor of English at Columbia University. In Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination (University of Chicago Press,