Agency through Otherness: Portraits of Performers in Circus Route Books, 1875-1925

Big Cat Trainers/ Tamers

While some women were exhibited for their appearance or strange talents in the sideshows, others were fighting for their right to a place on the big stage. Training the big animals in a circus was a feat that required strength, versatility, and courage, something women of that time were not supposed to possess. Every menagerie head at the time was a man, and almost all big trainers were also men, “who neither desired women trainers, nor believed that any feminine performer could possibly develop herself into a position of control over wild beasts.”  So, it took time and effort for a woman to make her way into the field. In the past, if a woman worked with animals, it was typically in the background, never in the ring itself, unless they were being used as a prop to look pretty and fragile next to the giant beasts. 

Entering any profession within the circus as a woman was generally looked upon strangely by outsiders, so undertaking a position in such a dangerous field was incredibly scandalous. It took a lot of effort on the woman’s part to convince both the circus management and their male counterparts to be able to learn the art of training the big cats. Whatever the cost may have been, women were determined to follow their passions. 


Once they gained traction within the ring, they were still struggling to assert their power and be seen as equals to men in skill. “While men always appeared as vanquishers of big cats, a very different kind of depiction arose for the women who began appearing alone with lions and tigers,” often seen as interacting with the cats in a sexualized manner.  Rather than fighting in the ring, they were lovingly interacting with the animals. This created a very different act from those of typical male trainers (e.g. Clyde Beatty), but they persevered and the women in the ring became more reputable and found new ways to train and maintain their show.
 

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