Taylor Swift announced the title and track list of her forthcoming 12th studio album, “ The Life of a Showgirl ,” on Wednesday. The album art and subsequent photos feature Swift in various sartorial styles and poses evocative of the iconic showgirl.

With deep roots in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the showgirl archetype evolved over the course of the last century. The term was coined sometime in the 18th century, but was used more widely in 1800s Paris to describe the performers of various cabarets, including the iconic Moulin Rouge.

By 1907, America adopted the showgirl, with The Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway. Filmmaker Busby Berkeley incorporated showgirls into his 1930 films. The showgirl has also become an emblematic symbol of Las Vegas entertainment. From stage and scree

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