I"ve never seen one, and I’m a big fan.
Women have a precence in just about any vocation you can think of. I wonder why this is an exception.
It’s certainly not a question of cosmic proportions, but I’m curious, nevertheless.
Any ideas?
Melinda is currently among the most visible female magicians. She has made multiple television appearances and, I believe, has her own theater show in Branson. I also believe she was married to Lance Burton for a while. She is referred to as “The First Lady of Magic”.
Galina is a fairly well-known Russian magician, who has a great routine where she levitates herself. I’ve not seen her do much more than that, but I’m sure she has a full show. She has appeared on American television on the World’s Greatest Magic series that aired annually for several years.
Jonathon and Charlotte Pendragon are a husband and wife team, though she usually plays the role of the assistant.
I’m sure there are others, but those are the fairly well-known ones that pop into my head.
As to why there aren’t more … I don’t really know. I’m trying to come up with a theory for ya, but I’m not having much success. I’ll keep giving it some thought. (I’m sure you’ll be on pins and needles to hear my great thoughts. ;))
Until quite recently (couldn’t find a cite for the date), women were not eligible to join the Magic Circle magician’s organisation in the UK. The excuse given was that anyone who gives away a magician’s secret had to be expelled from the club, and women “can’t keep secrets”, so maybe that kind of prejudice has something to do with it? They do have female members now.
The only female magician I’ve ever seen on TV is the transgendered Fay Presto.
There are female magcians, but very few. As well as those mentioned so far, there is also Julianna Chen, who I’d say is probably the best female magician in the world right now.
Why so few? There is absolutely nothing to prevent women from becoming magicians - they can develop the skills at least as well as men (if not better). Some people think that because, for example, they generally have smaller hands they wouldn’t be able to ‘palm’ cards and so on. This is not true.
One can only suppose that social and cultural factors play a large part. There is also plenty of ‘cosy’ male chavinism in the magic world, which makes it hard (but far from impossible) for women to gain acceptance.
Another factor, I believe, is that the mainstream performing arts involve communication, expression and sentiment. Think of great music, singing, dance and drama. Magic can do the same, but it rarely does. All too often, and regrettably, it is essentially someone demonstrating that they can do something that looks impossible… and that’s all. As such, one might suggest that women have the sense to be drawn towards performing arts that allow for more expression and feeling. Magic can be very sterile and pointless - it doesn’t have to be, and it shouldn’t be, but it often is.
Maybe, too, women are just more sensible. If you are going to try and make it in showbusiness, most other avenues offer more potential for long-term career success, and fulfilment, than magic. Sure, in every lifetime a few magicians do well, get famous and maybe rich. But very, very few. Most will witness the truth of the old magician’s joke: “What’s the difference between a pizza and a magician?” “A pizza can feed a family of four”. Even those that can earn a living professionally are doomed to permanent obscurity or the life of a support act a long way down the bill.
I think women in magic now is where women in stand-up comedy was about 30 years ago. It will take a few very dedicated and talented magiciennes to come along, shake up the scene and show how women can do it and make it look good.
Incidentally, the branch of magic devoted to mind-reading and that kind fo thing is called mentalism. Although there are a few female magicians, there are NO professinal female mentalists. So if you’ve ever wanted to get into showbiz, and you were loking for an empty niche just waiting for someone to be FIRST, ther’es your chance.
This is a topic that comes up almost daily in the Magic Forum website.
But perhaps the best discussion of the subject of why there are so few women in magic that I have seen is presented by highly respected professional magician Sue Anne Webster at:
www4.tpgi.com.au/users/katzkin/PUBWomenInMagic.htm
In the essay, Webster discusses a variety of reasons that women are not a larger portion of the magic profession. She examines the “Old Boy Network”, a lack of role models, sexism, reverse sexism, tradition and costuming limitations among others. She even touches on some of the advantages that women may have as magicians.
Some other notable female magicians include:
-Loraine and Lola
-Luna Shinnada
-Julianna Chen
-Jade
-Jenny Alexander (billed as the, “Sexiest Woman in Las Vegas”)
That should have read:
http://www4.tpgi.com.au/users/katzkin/PUBWomenInMagic.htm
Sorry about that:wally
There is also Tenko Hikida, who performs under the name Princess Tenko.
According to her bio, she’s done a lot of performances in the U.S.