How to Be a Man
Masculinity in Australian Teen Culture and American Teen Movies
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5904679 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Scott Mckinnon (0000-0002-8903-7824, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 131 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 127-135 |
| Publication date | 2009-05-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Media International Australia (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1329-878X • E-ISSN: 2200-467X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1329878x0913100114 |
| OpenAlex | W2225535808 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 3 |
This paper examines the reception of American teen films by Australian audiences in the 1950s, focusing specifically on issues of masculinity and sexuality. Using material gathered from sources such as oral history interviews, autobiographical writing and Australian media reports, an attempt is made to locate the films as one element in a developing local culture based more on age than nationality. The paper argues that, screened within the context of a society which defined masculine behaviour in the light of the ideals of war, a range of popular American films and their stars acted to complicate the idea of what it meant to be male. Audiences were offered new, or at least more ambiguous, notions of gender and sexuality. These changes caused concern among some Australian adults, as they watched the teenage boys of the nation learn how to be men
Art · Human sexuality · Immigration · Literature · Masculinity · Media studies · Nationality · Political science · Popular culture · Project commissioning · Publishing · Sociology · Australian History and Society · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · History · Law
| Highly cited | No |
|---|