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Sexual license, cross-dressing and other healthy behavior | page 1, 2
A fascination with other times and places is an important ingredient of Carnival, and in New Orleans the past is constantly being dragged out and put on view as part of the inversion strategy. The whole nomenclature of the festival is self-consciously "old." Words like "Krewe," with its idiosyncratic spelling, were designed to evoke the idea of the Renaissance. The Krewe names are drawn from Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology: the Mystic Krewe of Comus, the Krewe of Rex, the Krewes of Proteus and Hermes and so on. New Orleans is self-conscious about its history and uses Mardi Gras to reconfirm its image as Southern, Catholic and French. It displays its food, its jazz and its reputation for being "naughty." During the 1960s, Carnival in New Orleans started to become a parade. The main reasons for this slight shift were the development of nationally coordinated television programs and the modern propensity to make every social manifestation into a spectacle for others and to try to sell it.
Many Americans love parades because they give individuals a chance to belong to a group and at the same time demonstrate that affiliation to a large audience. The word "parade" comes from the old Spanish word "parada," which meant "the stopping." It was a military word that was used to describe the period of time that a foreign army stayed in an occupied town. The soldiers marched through the streets, which gave them the chance to show their strength and impress the locals. It may seem odd that something as regimented as an army would have a part in the history of Carnival, but soldiers are from the realm of war, which is the ultimate chaos. Women began to parade openly in New Orleans during the 1941 Mardi Gras, with the foundation of the Krewe of Venus. Men and women did not parade together until the 1960s. Yet as early as 1912, there were bands of "Baby Dolls" -- tough women -- who walked along the street instead of riding a float. These days there are so many Krewes that the New Orleans newspaper, the Times-Picayune, has a Web site that tells you how you can quickly become a member and join the parade. In ancient carnivals, nuts and sweets were tossed to the spectators. Today the crowd grasps for necklaces and plastic coins called doubloons. The distribution of "wealth" to the population is a way of letting everyone take part in the event. The people on the floats have everything they want, and are moving through life. The spectators are not advancing; they are watching life go by. The distribution of trinkets keeps the watchers amused and in their place. It is a tradition that celebrates the American myths of equality and success through accumulation, but at the same time makes fun of them, the true mark of Carnival. The festivities last only a short time and show people that rebellion, disorder and general chaos are not what they want on a regular basis. Order and organization are essential for the survival of a community, and these are always reestablished at the end of any Carnival. The madness has been given an official release and the powerful elite can persuade themselves that the population has returned to pious devotion.
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