Contortion Wiki

Act in which a performer, dressed in a loose-fitting clown costume, gives the appearance of being a limp, life-sized doll, as one or two assistants bend, roll, carry and pose the “doll”, usually ending with the assistants stuff them into a small box. At the end of the act, the performer is usually revealed.

Theoretically less derogatory than golliwog acts, but in practice easily runs into issues of objectification.

Definition based on the Contortion Glossary by Greg Ullman and Tige Young