America's Changing Icons: Constructing Patriotic Women from World War I to the Present [Hardcover]

Americas Changing Icons is a discursive examination of the female patriotic icon in the United States. This creative and entertaining work examines her use and decline, particularly in the 20th century, with a particular focus on popular culture icons like Lady Columbia, Rosie the Riveter, and Wonder Woman. These fictional creations, used with advertisements; letters; and literature of the eras work together to craft a multi-layered and dynamic portrait of cultural politics, tides, and perceptions about American women, life, and place.Annessa Ann Babicis an adjunct professor and freelance writer in NYC.

Babic treats the development of the patriotic feminine, always white, from the goddess-like Columbia to the war-supporting Rosie the Riveter through the many transformations of Wonder Woman. A reworking of Babics dissertation, the book examines these figures through the lenses of contemporaneous advertisements in popular magazines, posters, editorials, and journalism. Babic begins with the iconic Columbia, the self-sacrificing American girl on a pedestal, and goes on to consider Rosie the Riveter as a patriot who labors for herself and her country. Even Wonder Woman, introduced in 1941, has numerous identities that fit the times. No single image of the patriotic feminine ideal emerged after WW IIthe US became more multifaceted and conflicted in its views about women and their roles in family, work, politics, society, and war. Babic discusses womens liberation, the unsuccessful campaign for the ERA, and even the Gulf War, ending with a postscript on the film Wonder Woman (2017). Scholarly notes appear at the end of each chapter.



Summing Up: Recommended. Graduates students, researchers, faculty. Choice Reviews

Acknowledgments
Prelude
Introduction
Chapter One: Columbia and the American Girl During World War I
Chapter Two: Wonder Women Fetishes and Fantasies
Chapter Three: Redesigning the 1950s American Woman
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