PRIMARY PARTICIPATING CITIES
Commodification and Release vs Local Traditional Roles
Mobile, AL
Original Mardi Gras location. Not currently a primary site with traditional markers, though parades are held.
Western Louisiana Prairie
Gender roles strike a rigid line and women play back stage support roles in male celebration.
New Orleans, LA
Party town and income opportunities... tourism. Masks and costumes are bought and rarely handmade. Deeply historical costume are carried year after year.
Comparison to Other Celebrations
Traditional Parade Variants
How women choose to participate across celebrations such as Mardi Gras, Carnival, Mumming, and others. Women in eastern gulf coast regions and major cities like NOLA seem to draw on the complex historical narratives in very dramatic, role-playing, and facetious costume. In this way, Mardi Gras resembles Carnival of the Caribbean and Brazil. Additionally, while homemade costume is seen, much more commodification and tourist centric presentations and artifacts are used. Often imported, massed produced doubloons, beads, and masks are openly available at outlet shops and tourist kiosks (Sarwan 2001).
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Rural western Louisiana prairie towns celebrate in a completely different pathway. Much like the celebration of Mumming, it is important to the jest and fun of the parade for participants to not be recognized by those they know well (Ware 2001, Handelman 1984). They also retain dress code from original Mardi Gras jester dress with blocky costume dress and capuchons. Additionally, once women were able to participate, they simply held their own parade several days prior so as not to encroach on the men's celebration on Tuesday. Gender roles and women as support systems are played out in this holiday specifically in rural areas to follow tradition rather than make statements, play role reversal, or interweave historical relationships.