Decoder Ring: The “Sex” Scandal That Made Mae West

In the early 1930s, Mae West’s dirty talk and hip swiveling walk
made her one of the biggest movie stars in America. But before West
hit the big-screen, she was prosecuted for staging not one, but two
scandalous plays. In this episode, we look at how West honed her
persona when she was under the bright lights of Broadway and the
flashbulbs of the tabloids — and briefly behind bars. More than a
century later, her career arc offers a blueprint on how to survive
a scandal…and maybe even come out ahead. This episode relied
heavily on a lot of archival material and innumerable books: When
I’m Bad, I’m Better: Mae West, Sex and American Entertainment by
Marybeth Hamilton; When Brooklyn was Queer by Hugh Ryan; Lillian
Schlissel’s introduction to Three Plays by Mae West,  Mae
West: a biography by George Eells and Stanley Musgrove; Mae West:
An Icon in Black and White by Jill Watts;  Becoming May West
by Emily Wortis Leider; Gay New York by George Chauncey;  Mae
West, She Who Laughs Last, by June Sochen: Goodness Has Nothing to
Do with It by Mae West; and Linda Ann Losciavo’s play “Courting Mae
West” and her blog, which you can find at
Maewest.blogspot.com.  This episode of Decoder Ring was
written by Willa Paskin. It was produced by Willa Paskin and Katie
Shepherd. Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative
Podcasts. Merritt Jacob is our Technical Director. Thank you to
Benjamin Frisch for this topic.  If you have any cultural
mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com
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