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JFK and the masculine mystique : sex and power on the New Frontier / Steven Watts.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin's Press, 2016Edition: First editionDescription: x, 415 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781250049988 (hardcover)
  • 1250049989 (hardcover)
Subject(s):
Contents:
Introduction: Kennedy Adonais -- The crisis of masculinity in 1950s America -- Style makes the man: candidate John F. Kennedy -- Hollywood cool: Frank Sinatra and the Jack Pack -- Existential tough guy: Norman Mailer -- Secret agent men: Ian Fleming and James Bond -- A philosophy for playboys: Hugh Hefner -- Vigor and virility: President John F. Kennedy -- Celebrity journalist: Ben Bradlee -- Modern warrior: Maxwell Taylor and Edward Lansdale -- The Spartacus syndrome: Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis -- Mercury macho: Alan Shepard and John Glenn -- Epilogue: the masculine mystique.
Summary: A cultural examination of the popularity and allure of the thirty-fifth president reveals how Kennedy was tailored to appeal to the public of his time, explaining how he symbolized postwar views about American masculinity.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 155.332 W353 Available 33111008518231
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

From very early on in his career, John F. Kennedy's allure was more akin to a movie star than a presidential candidate. Why were Americans so attracted to Kennedy in the late 1950s and early 1960s--his glamorous image, good looks, cool style, tough-minded rhetoric, and sex appeal?

As Steve Watts argues, JFK was tailor made for the cultural atmosphere of his time. He benefited from a crisis of manhood that had welled up in postwar America when men had become ensnared by bureaucracy, softened by suburban comfort, and emasculated by a generation of newly-aggressive women. Kennedy appeared to revive the modern American man as youthful and vigorous, masculine and athletic, and a sexual conquistador. His cultural crusade involved other prominent figures, including Frank Sinatra, Norman Mailer, Ian Fleming, Hugh Hefner, Ben Bradlee, Kirk Douglas, and Tony Curtis, who collectively symbolized masculine regeneration.

JFK and the Masculine Mystique is not just another standard biography of the youthful president. By examining Kennedy in the context of certain books, movies, social critiques, music, and cultural discussions that framed his ascendancy, Watts shows us the excitement and sense of possibility, the optimism and aspirations, that accompanied the dawn of a new age in America.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: Kennedy Adonais -- The crisis of masculinity in 1950s America -- Style makes the man: candidate John F. Kennedy -- Hollywood cool: Frank Sinatra and the Jack Pack -- Existential tough guy: Norman Mailer -- Secret agent men: Ian Fleming and James Bond -- A philosophy for playboys: Hugh Hefner -- Vigor and virility: President John F. Kennedy -- Celebrity journalist: Ben Bradlee -- Modern warrior: Maxwell Taylor and Edward Lansdale -- The Spartacus syndrome: Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis -- Mercury macho: Alan Shepard and John Glenn -- Epilogue: the masculine mystique.

A cultural examination of the popularity and allure of the thirty-fifth president reveals how Kennedy was tailored to appeal to the public of his time, explaining how he symbolized postwar views about American masculinity.

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