{"id":{"repo_id":"regina","oai_identifier":"oai:uregina.scholaris.ca:10294/7703"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/regina/oai:uregina.scholaris.ca:10294/7703","repository":{"repo_id":"regina","name":"University of Regina","base_url":"https://uregina.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Undressing an American icon: Addressing the representation of Calamity Jane through a critical study of her costume","abstract":"This investigation studies Martha Jane Canary, known as Calamity Jane, with focus on her apparel, the buckskin outfit of a scout. This thesis looks at Calamity Jane’s costume because it was so seminal to her emergence as an American frontier icon. Unlike one-off costumes such as Dorothy’s ruby slippers or Marilyn Monroe’s JFK birthday dress, Calamity Jane’s costume re-occurred and was the determining factor in her rise to fame. What is innovative in this research is the use of critical costume theory as a methodology to revisit the history of Calamity Jane. This thesis considers Calamity Jane’s garments as a biographical construct, containing conceptual elements and acting essentially as a floating semiotic signifier representing: 1) a woman’s ability to survive in the frontier west; 2) its construction of relative freedom for women from normative social structures and; 3) cultural assumptions around what gender is and does. It is her costume that therefore elevated the figure of Calamity Jane to iconic proportions in western frontier mythology.","abstract_html":"This investigation studies Martha Jane Canary, known as Calamity Jane, with focus on her apparel, the buckskin outfit of a scout. This thesis looks at Calamity Jane’s costume because it was so seminal to her emergence as an American frontier icon. Unlike one-off costumes such as Dorothy’s ruby slippers or Marilyn Monroe’s JFK birthday dress, Calamity Jane’s costume re-occurred and was the determining factor in her rise to fame. What is innovative in this research is the use of critical costume theory as a methodology to revisit the history of Calamity Jane. This thesis considers Calamity Jane’s garments as a biographical construct, containing conceptual elements and acting essentially as a floating semiotic signifier representing: 1) a woman’s ability to survive in the frontier west; 2) its construction of relative freedom for women from normative social structures and; 3) cultural assumptions around what gender is and does. It is her costume that therefore elevated the figure of Calamity Jane to iconic proportions in western frontier mythology.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["McComb, Catherine Mary"],"institution":"Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina","degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Interdisciplinary Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Irwin, Kathleen"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Pearce, Wes","Belisle, Donica"],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-12","date_published":"2016-12","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:03:49Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.82465/4997"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://doi.org/10.82465/4997","href":"https://doi.org/10.82465/4997","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10294/7703","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Irwin, Kathleen"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Pearce, Wes","Belisle, Donica"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["McComb, Catherine Mary"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2017-06-19T22:39:07Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-06-19T22:39:07Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2016-12"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["master thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Interdisciplinary Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.82465/4997"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10294/7703"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Regina. 69 p."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This investigation studies Martha Jane Canary, known as Calamity Jane, with focus on her apparel, the buckskin outfit of a scout. This thesis looks at Calamity Jane’s costume because it was so seminal to her emergence as an American frontier icon. Unlike one-off costumes such as Dorothy’s ruby slippers or Marilyn Monroe’s JFK birthday dress, Calamity Jane’s costume re-occurred and was the determining factor in her rise to fame. What is innovative in this research is the use of critical costume theory as a methodology to revisit the history of Calamity Jane. This thesis considers Calamity Jane’s garments as a biographical construct, containing conceptual elements and acting essentially as a floating semiotic signifier representing: 1) a woman’s ability to survive in the frontier west; 2) its construction of relative freedom for women from normative social structures and; 3) cultural assumptions around what gender is and does. 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