University of Virginia Library

Bitchiness

Worse still, none of the
actors ever quite caught the
right tone; the production has
as much camp as a minstrel
show has soul. In a play which
depends upon smart talk for
much of its success, the
sooques and repartees were
invariably ill-timed and
monotonously high-pitched.
Often the bitchiness of camp is
the inhibition of someone
(Michael) to communicate
openly to someone else
(Donald) his respect and
affection. Thus, in the
conventions of camp, insult is
compliment. The camp in the
play never conveys this tone;
the bitchiness is nothing but
bitchiness.

Worst of all was the casting.
The play demands type-casting.
It is a sociological fact that
before the sexual revolution
sexual identification ("male")
determined gender
identification ("masculine").
Our Society expected its males
to act "masculine," with the
exception of the homosexual
male, who could act as
"feminine" as he pleased.
Hence it is no distortion – nor
is it an affront – to see the
hyper-effeminate Emory.