American Sammys and French Poilus in the Great War

Sport, Masculinities and Vulnerability

Bibliographic Data

ID12218654
AuthorsThierry Terret (Lyon 1 Université, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume28
Issue3-4
Pages351-371
Publication date2011-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe International Journal of the History of Sport (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0952-3367 • E-ISSN: 1743-9035
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09523367.2011.544859
PMID21714201
OpenAlexW2069696550
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited18

The violence and duration of fighting throughout the Great War created an intense feeling of vulnerability among the men engaged in battle, which challenged their perception of manliness. When the Americans joined the war in 1917, the balance between the two opposing armies was modified and the psychological crises of French soldiers brought to an end. The confidence shown by the American soldiers and their first successes on the battlefield changed the way the French Poilus perceived their new allies. From scepticism to admiration, Frenchmen's feelings extended beyond the fighting. Indeed, by living with American soldiers in the trenches and camps behind the front, French soldiers discovered a new culture where games and sport played a major role and contributed to building manliness. The Foyers Franco-Americains du Soldat (Franco-American hostels for soldiers) provided an ideal place for the cultural transfer of a model of masculinity from Sammys to Poilus. The foyers were managed by the American YMCA and eventually reached the number of 1,500 in France during the war. These hostels afforded soldiers numerous opportunities to develop cultural and sports practices, by bringing together Americans and Frenchmen. Mainly based on the archives of the American Expeditionary Forces, the YMCA and the French Army, the paper argues that the Foyers du Soldat brought to light a new model of masculinity based on sport, which challenged the Frenchmen's vision. It aims to show the rapid transformation of masculine identity within a context of extreme vulnerability and confirms the changes in representations of men in French society at this time

Admiration · Ancient history · Battle · Context (archaeology · Feeling · Masculinity · Political science · Sociology · French Historical and Cultural Studies · Gender Studies · History · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact

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