Transnational ‘Italian’ stardom: Lara saint paul and the performativity of race

Brioni, Cecilia; Brioni, Simone

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to the debate about critical race studies in the Italian context – and especially in the 1960s and the 1970s – by focusing on the construction and negotiation of race in the career of the prominent Italian meticcia singer, television host and producer Silvana Areggasc Savorelli, also known as Tanya from 1960 to 1966 and Lara Saint Paul from 1967 onwards. Through an examination of Savorelli’s career as a singer, television host and Italian diva, this article shows how the meanings of Savorelli’s meticcio body have been constantly adapting to the shifting perceptions of blackness in Italy and other Western societies. Lara Saint Paul’s media representations illustrate a change in the social construction of Italianness in terms of race from the early 1960s to the early 2000s.

Citation

Brioni, C., & Brioni, S. (2018). Transnational ‘Italian’ stardom: Lara saint paul and the performativity of race. Italian Studies, 73(4), 351-364. https://doi.org/10.1080/00751634.2018.1499844

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 31, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jul 18, 2018
• Publication Date: Oct 2, 2018
• Deposit Date: Nov 19, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 19, 2020
• Journal: Italian Studies
• Print ISSN: 0075-1634
• Electronic ISSN: 1748-6181
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 73
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 351-364
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00751634.2018.1499844
• Keywords: Linguistics and Language; Literature and Literary Theory; Cultural Studies; History; Visual Arts and Performing Arts; Language and Linguistics
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/1155274
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00751634.2018.1499844
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=yits20