Josephine Joseph
Encyclopedia
Josephine Joseph was a Polish
Austrian
whose body
was supposedly split down the middle, one side female and the other male. She claimed to be a true hermaphrodite
, but there is no evidence to confirm whether this was the case or not; she may have just been a very skilled male
/female
impersonator.
Like most sideshow "hermaphrodites" this would have been portrayed with the "half and half" trick; woman
on the left and man
on the right. One side of the body would be exercised, have hair trimmed, and tanned in the sun; the other side would be covered and unexercised, making it pale and flabby, so the chest resembled a woman's breast while the hair was grown out. The performer would then wear a split costume; a low cut, tight top and hotpants on the "female" side and on the "male" side a Tarzan
style loin cloth.
Josephine is most prominently remembered, however, for a role in the Tod Browning
classic Freaks
at the age of 19. Although she only had two lines, she still appeared in a number of scenes, most notably when "Josephine" gives an alluring look towards the strongman to which another performer responds "I think she likes you, but he don't!"
"Hermaphrodites" were very common in freak shows, but most are presumed to be frauds.
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
whose body
Body
With regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...
was supposedly split down the middle, one side female and the other male. She claimed to be a true hermaphrodite
Hermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
, but there is no evidence to confirm whether this was the case or not; she may have just been a very skilled male
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
/female
Female
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
impersonator.
Like most sideshow "hermaphrodites" this would have been portrayed with the "half and half" trick; woman
Woman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
on the left and man
Man
The term man is used for an adult human male . However, man is sometimes used to refer to humanity as a whole...
on the right. One side of the body would be exercised, have hair trimmed, and tanned in the sun; the other side would be covered and unexercised, making it pale and flabby, so the chest resembled a woman's breast while the hair was grown out. The performer would then wear a split costume; a low cut, tight top and hotpants on the "female" side and on the "male" side a Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
style loin cloth.
Josephine is most prominently remembered, however, for a role in the Tod Browning
Tod Browning
Tod Browning was an American motion picture actor, director and screenwriter.Browning's career spanned the silent and talkie eras...
classic Freaks
Freaks
Freaks is a 1932 American Pre-Code horror film about sideshow performers, directed and produced by Tod Browning and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with a cast mostly composed of actual carnival performers. The film was based on Tod Robbins' 1923 short story "Spurs"...
at the age of 19. Although she only had two lines, she still appeared in a number of scenes, most notably when "Josephine" gives an alluring look towards the strongman to which another performer responds "I think she likes you, but he don't!"
"Hermaphrodites" were very common in freak shows, but most are presumed to be frauds.