Adel Iowa Circus Young Black Woman 700 Lb 1907 Real Photo Postcard

Individuals presented as "fat ladies" were prominent features of American and European popular entertainment from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries, commonly appearing in sideshows, circuses, and vaudeville acts. These performers, often celebrated for their exceptional size, were marketed as "human curiosities" or "human exhibits," drawing large audiences fascinated by the extraordinary and unusual. Their elaborate costumes, like the one featuring tassels seen here, were designed to enhance their stage presence and visual appeal, framing them within a theatrical context.

This form of entertainment reflected the era's public fascination with bodily difference and spectacle. While providing a livelihood for many of the performers, these acts also existed within a broader cultural framework that often sensationalized and objectified individuals based on physical attributes. The decline of the traditional sideshow and the shift in societal views towards bodily autonomy and disability largely led to the disappearance of such acts from mainstream entertainment by the latter half of the 20th century.