Examining photographs, illustrations, films and live performances, Peta Tait presents an extraordinary survey of 140 years of trapeze acts and the cultural identities that are presented by bodies in fast, physical aerial movement.

Introduction: Aerial Bodies Chapter 1: Graceful Manliness, Unfeminine Maidens and Erotic Gods Chapter 2: Unnatural Acts, Female Strongmen Chapter 3: Cross-Dressing and Female Muscular Drag Chapter 4: Gender Competition, Camp Spectacles and Impossible Machismo Chapter 5: Androgyny to Queer Violence: Cirque du Soleil, Archaos and Circus Oz Chapter 6: Ecstasy and Visceral Flesh in Motion Glossary References Index

Peta Tait is Professor of Theatre and Drama at La Trobe University, Australia. She is author of Performing Emotions: Gender, Bodies, Spaces in Chekhov's Drama and Stanislavski's theatre (2002) as well as books on gender identity in Australian theatre, and editor of Body Show/s (2000).