Mates at Play: Affirming and Challenging Social Norms

This skit was part of the April 1960 variety show, "The Backyard Minstrels."  The entire show was themed around minstrelsy and blackface, which traditionally used rituals of inversion to affirm white supremacy over blacks.

This section examines a number of activities in the early 1960's that dealt with social norms at the time.  Through the lens of a minstrel show, "womanless wedding," and the recreation of a beatnik coffeehouse, State's Mates was able to explore the fringes of society in a socially acceptable manner.

Folklorists and cultural historians have long been fascinated by the concepts of “play” and “inversion.”  Through the use of “rituals of inversion,” often repeated during carnivals, holidays, or other festivals, participants are able to challenge, criticize, and otherwise explore boundaries that are normally taboo.  Rituals such as these are important for the long-term stability of a culture, because they allow for the safe release of tensions that could otherwise destabilize it.  In the stressful culture of State’s Mates members, in which women were expected to be good wives, workers, and possibly mothers, in a limited-income household, “playing” with stereotypes allowed members of State’s Mates to explore other cultures, real or fictionalized.  At the same time, they reaffirmed the dominant social structure—a structure that State’s Mates consciously made themselves a part of.  Through the lens of race, gender, and countercultural movements, State’s Mates used social programs to affirm and challenge existing norms.

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