1907 Scandal
Early women's rights activist Annette Kellerman posed in this fitted,
one-piece bathing suit to protest the restrictive clothing of the day.
She arrested for indecency because of this picture. Australians can thank Annette Kellerman every time they take a swim. In
1905 she invented the streamlined one-piece swimming costume for women, a
liberating garment, which became her trademark. But more than that, she
re-awoke the pleasure of swimming for everyone including men, women and
children. Known as the Diving Venus and the Australian Mermaid, Annette
Kellerman (1887–1975) was an athlete as well as a vaudeville and movie
star, one of the most famous women of her day.
Kellerman set out to challenge the legal restrictions on women's bathing clothes in the United States. In 1907, preparing for a promotional coast swim, she was arrested for indecency on Revere Beach, Boston. She was wearing one of her fitted one-piece costumes that had no skirt, clung to her body and revealed her thighs. The judge accepted her arguments in favor of swimming as healthy exercise and against cumbersome bathing suits, provided she wore a robe until she entered the water. Her arrest generated worldwide publicity. She continued to wear her one-piece swimsuit in her stage shows and public swimming events.
Film Career
The Bride of Lammermoor: A Tragedy of Bonnie Scotland (1909)
Jephtah's Daughter: A Biblical Tragedy (1909)
The Gift of Youth (1909)
Entombed Alive (1909)
Siren of the Sea (1911)
The Mermaid (1911)
Neptune's Daughter (1914)
A Daughter of the Gods (1916)
National Red Cross Pageant (1917)
Queen of the Sea (1918)
What Women Love (1920)
Venus of the South Seas (1924)
Kellerman set out to challenge the legal restrictions on women's bathing clothes in the United States. In 1907, preparing for a promotional coast swim, she was arrested for indecency on Revere Beach, Boston. She was wearing one of her fitted one-piece costumes that had no skirt, clung to her body and revealed her thighs. The judge accepted her arguments in favor of swimming as healthy exercise and against cumbersome bathing suits, provided she wore a robe until she entered the water. Her arrest generated worldwide publicity. She continued to wear her one-piece swimsuit in her stage shows and public swimming events.
Film Career
The Bride of Lammermoor: A Tragedy of Bonnie Scotland (1909)
Jephtah's Daughter: A Biblical Tragedy (1909)
The Gift of Youth (1909)
Entombed Alive (1909)
Siren of the Sea (1911)
The Mermaid (1911)
Neptune's Daughter (1914)
A Daughter of the Gods (1916)
National Red Cross Pageant (1917)
Queen of the Sea (1918)
What Women Love (1920)
Venus of the South Seas (1924)
No comments:
Post a Comment