Michael Gregg Michaud
Being provocative and challenging the mores of society always informed Mae West’s playbook. Her controversial and hugely entertaining nightclub act in the 1950s reminded fans and critics alike that she remained a thoughtful social critic. 'Pushing the envelope' was nothing new for the actress, and was still an effective and memorable gimmick. Her objectification of men - nearly stripped bare from head to toe and paraded around the stage for an audience - was the complete opposite of what had been seen and celebrated before in the fields of live entertainment. Her shameless exploitation of the male body not only titillated the females in her audience, it forever changed the way men were physically objectified in the public eye. 'All this steak,' she would say, 'and no potatoes.'
