The three of us have been working together since 1978 as the Clichettes, a fictionalized version of a singing and dancing trio. Except that we don’t sing. Through the miracle of lip-sync (sometimes unimaginatively described as “mouthing the words to records”) we can re-interpret the meaning of the songs we perform with attitude, gesture, costume, props and context. And there is a wealth of popular culture out there just waiting to be re-interpreted by feminists.

Primarily, the songs we choose are pop, have a good dance beat and fit into the plot. With Marni Jackson, we write plots to hang the songs from and to explore in greater detail areas of concern for us as women—socialization, genderization, stereotying, sexual politics. We love being The Clichettes. It gives us a change to take on myriad characters, to popularize feminism, to challenge, to shock, to develop our skills—and not to have to do it all alone.

City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 235, Series 829, Item 16.

Back to recent acquistions: Fonds 235, Pamela Harris