European University Institute Library

Beyond combat, women and gender in the Vietnam War era, Heather Marie Stur

eng

index present

non fiction

Beyond combat

electronic resource

dictionaries

772527185

Heather Marie Stur

Cambridge Social Sciences eBooks

women and gender in the Vietnam War era

Beyond Combat investigates how the Vietnam War both reinforced and challenged the gender roles that were key components of American Cold War ideology. Refocusing attention onto women and gender paints a more complex and accurate picture of the war's far-reaching impact beyond the battlefields. Encounters between Americans and Vietnamese were shaped by a cluster of intertwined images used to make sense of and justify American intervention and use of force in Vietnam. These images included the girl next door, a wholesome reminder of why the United States was committed to defeating Communism, and the treacherous and mysterious 'dragon lady', who served as a metaphor for Vietnamese women and South Vietnam. Heather Stur also examines the ways in which ideas about masculinity shaped the American GI experience in Vietnam and, ultimately, how some American men and women returned from Vietnam to challenge homefront gender norms.--, Provided by publisher

Vietnamese women in the American mind: gender, race, and the Vietnam War -- "She could be the girl next door": the Red Cross SRAO in Vietnam -- "We weren't called soldiers, we were called ladies": WACs and nurses in Vietnam -- Gender and America's "faces of domination" in Vietnam -- Liberating men and women: antiwar GIs speak out against the warrior myth -- Conclusion: "You've come a long way ... maybe": gender after Vietnam