Graduation Year
2024
Date of Submission
12-2024
Document Type
Campus Only Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Literature
Reader 1
Nicholas Warner
Reader 2
Jonathan Lethem
Rights Information
© 2024 Caelan S Reeves
Abstract
This thesis compares social constructions of masculinity during the Cold War in two arenas: government, with the mass firings of thousands of accused homosexuals during the Lavender Scare, and entertainment, with the construction of John Wayne as an icon of American masculinity in his films and personal life, as well as their intersections as Wayne’s image is leveraged as a political signifier. Through analysis of journalism, film, and government records from the Hoey investigation into homosexuals in government, this thesis identifies the contradictory nature of pressures to appear as a real man and condemnations of those who appear to be “performing” as real men. Using Judith Butler’s understanding of gendered identities as constructed through ritual performed acts, this thesis highlights the ritualized and performative nature of many of the acts undertaken by men during this era in order to be understood as “real men,” as well the social punishment that followed an unsuccessful performance. Finally, this thesis argues that attempts to deconstruct the image of Wayne and other conservative figures rely on, and as such reaffirm, conservative understandings of what constitutes masculinity, and identifies Butler’s analysis as a means of producing more productive critiques of Wayne’s image.
Recommended Citation
Reeves, Caelan, "The Kind of Man I’d Like to Have Been: John Wayne, the Lavender Scare, and Cold War Masculinities" (2024). CMC Senior Theses. 3840.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/3840
This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.