Good Girls, Good Food, Good Fun

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher:
The University of North Carolina Press
Pub. Date:
2008
Language:
English
Description
Throughout World War II, when Saturday nights came around, servicemen and hostesses happily forgot the war for a little while as they danced together in USO clubs, which served as havens of stability in a time of social, moral, and geographic upheaval. Meghan Winchell demonstrates that in addition to boosting soldier morale, the USO acted as an architect of the gender roles and sexual codes that shaped the "greatest generation."Combining archival research with extensive firsthand accounts from among the hundreds of thousands of female USO volunteers, Winchell shows how the organization both reflected and shaped 1940s American society at large. The USO had hoped that respectable feminine companionship would limit venereal disease rates in the military. To that end, Winchell explains, USO recruitment practices characterized white middle-class women as sexually respectable, thus implying that the sexual behavior of working-class women and women of color was suspicious. In response, women of color sought to redefine the USO's definition of beauty and respectability, challenging the USO's vision of a home front that was free of racial, gender, and sexual conflict.Despite clashes over class and racial ideologies of sex and respectability, Winchell finds that most hostesses benefited from the USO's chaste image. In exploring the USO's treatment of female volunteers, Winchell not only brings the hostesses' stories to light but also supplies a crucial missing piece for understanding the complex ways in which the war both destabilized and restored certain versions of social order.
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ISBN:
9780807887264
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Grouping Information

Grouped Work ID527f4e15-3b32-d3c4-7437-6efb962a9036
Grouping Titlegood girls good food good fun
Grouping Authormeghan k winchell
Grouping Categorybook
Grouping LanguageEnglish (eng)
Last Grouping Update2024-01-26 15:04:47PM
Last Indexed2024-04-28 23:57:57PM

Solr Fields

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author
Winchell, Meghan K.
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hoopla digital
author_display
Winchell, Meghan K.
display_description
Throughout World War II, when Saturday nights came around, servicemen and hostesses happily forgot the war for a little while as they danced together in USO clubs, which served as havens of stability in a time of social, moral, and geographic upheaval. Meghan Winchell demonstrates that in addition to boosting soldier morale, the USO acted as an architect of the gender roles and sexual codes that shaped the "greatest generation."Combining archival research with extensive firsthand accounts from among the hundreds of thousands of female USO volunteers, Winchell shows how the organization both reflected and shaped 1940s American society at large. The USO had hoped that respectable feminine companionship would limit venereal disease rates in the military. To that end, Winchell explains, USO recruitment practices characterized white middle-class women as sexually respectable, thus implying that the sexual behavior of working-class women and women of color was suspicious. In response, women of color sought to redefine the USO's definition of beauty and respectability, challenging the USO's vision of a home front that was free of racial, gender, and sexual conflict.Despite clashes over class and racial ideologies of sex and respectability, Winchell finds that most hostesses benefited from the USO's chaste image. In exploring the USO's treatment of female volunteers, Winchell not only brings the hostesses' stories to light but also supplies a crucial missing piece for understanding the complex ways in which the war both destabilized and restored certain versions of social order.
format_category_eh
eBook
format_eh
eBook
id
527f4e15-3b32-d3c4-7437-6efb962a9036
isbn
9780807887264
last_indexed
2024-04-29T05:57:57.852Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
local_time_since_added_eh
Year
primary_isbn
9780807887264
publishDate
2008
publisher
The University of North Carolina Press
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Electronic books
title_display
Good Girls, Good Food, Good Fun
title_full
Good Girls, Good Food, Good Fun [electronic resource] / Meghan K. Winchell
title_short
Good Girls, Good Food, Good Fun
topic_facet
Electronic books

Solr Details Tables

item_details

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hoopla:MWT11719435Online Hoopla CollectionOnline HooplaeBookeBook1falsetrueHooplahttps://www.hoopladigital.com/title/11719435?utm_source=MARC&Lid=hh4435Available Online

record_details

Bib IdFormatFormat CategoryEditionLanguagePublisherPublication DatePhysical DescriptionAbridged
hoopla:MWT11719435eBookeBookEnglishThe University of North Carolina Press20081 online resource (272 pages)

scoping_details_eh

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