Masculinity and the First World War

Paper Summary:

The paper critically examines Bourke's "Dismembering the Male: Men's Bodies, Britain and the Great War", which analyzes how the idealized male form and notions of masculinity were impacted by the events of the First World War. The paper discusses the book's arguments, its strengths and weaknesses and how it was received by the academic community. The paper concludes that the book is a mild disappointment despite some undeniable strengths.

From the Paper:

"Bourke's book is chiefly concerned with how the idealized male form - vigorous, strong, assertive - and idealistic notions of masculinity were impacted by the events of the First World War; her conclusion is that there was as much continuity as there was change. For example, Bourke finds that the millions of British men who were maimed during the course of the great conflagration did not return home to a society which viewed them as passive or as weak because their bodies no longer measured up to the ideal male figure; instead, the society to which they returned viewed them (for the most part and at least initially until their status as warriors had slipped into the background) as objects of reverence and sympathy. On the other hand, those men who did not lose limbs in the war but returned home with the reputation as "malingerers" were held in contempt; in short, Bourke's book seems to argue that the idealized male body could be savaged in the most unsightly ways - but those men who had their physical beings damaged could still be viewed as men and as full members of the body politic insofar as they had honored their "masculine duties" on the field of battle."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bourke, Joanna. Dismembering the Male: Men's Bodies, Britain and the Great War. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
• Braybon, Gail. "Dismembering the Male: Men's Bodies, Great Britain and the Great War (book review)." Labour History Review, 61.3 (1996): 359-361.
• Burg, B.R. "Europe - Dismembering the Male: Men's Bodies, Great Britain and the Great War (book review)." Historian, 60.1 (1997): 154-155.
• Jacobs, John. "Dismembering the Male: Men's Bodies, Great Britain and the Great War (Book Review)." Mortality, 2.3 (1997): 281-282.
• Shakespeare, Tom. "Dismembering the Male: Men's Bodies, Great Britain and the Great War (Book)." Disability & Society, 12.1 (1997): 143-144.

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