News Coverage of U.S. Mothers of Soldiers During the Vietnam War

Shedding the image of Spartan motherhood

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12909151
AutoresKaren Slattery (0000-0001-7594-6202, Marquette University, autor de correspondencia), Ana C Garner (0000-0003-2415-7857, Marquette University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2014
Volumen9
Número2
Páginas265-278
Fecha de publicación2014-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournalism Practice (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17512786.2014.924735
OpenAlexW2111447196
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas17

The press of World Wars I and II depicted patriotic mothers as Spartan-like in their support of the nation's war effort. During the Vietnam War, another maternal image emerged to share cultural space with the Spartan mother, that of the goddess Thetis who objected to her son's participation in the Trojan War. This alternative maternal symbol more closely resembles the archetypal image of the peacetime good mother, who cares for her children and resists sending them into harm's way. This study documents coverage of maternal opposition to the Vietnam War against the backdrop of coverage of US mothers of soldiers in the earlier world wars. The comparison suggests that the Great Father's failure to control the press and promote the war to US citizens provided an opportunity for Thetis' rising

Economic history · Genealogy · Harm · Opposition (politics · Peacetime · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Vietnam War · World War II · Gender Studies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · History · Law · World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact