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Traumatized Masculinity: The Re-Negotiation of Masculinity Between Shell-Shocked Ex-Servicemen and the British State
Longobardi, Stefano
Longobardi, Stefano
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Abstract
This study seeks to analyze the re-negotiation of masculinity between the British state and shell-shocked ex-servicemen and the effects it had on the latter’s value as citizens. The analysis will follow the psychologically wounded soldier’s journey from the trenches to the pension office and track the ways in which masculinity and shellshock interacted. The role of British medical institutions in the treatment of shell-shocked men, as well as the response of the British military, are studied to ascertain how masculinity influenced these reactions to the issues posed by shellshock. In addition, the effects that shellshock itself had on the masculine identities of soldiers and the constructed masculinities of the British state are highlighted. Victorian and Edwardian ideals of appropriate masculine behavior still permeated British society in the first decades of the 20th century, and psychological victims of the war were measured against these standards. Ultimately, the British power apparatus’ use of masculinity in its dealings with shell-shocked veterans negatively impacted their value as men and citizens while simultaneously transforming them into a powerful symbol of the futility and horror of industrialized warfare.
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Thesis (B.A. in Art History)--John Cabot University, Spring 2018.
Date
2018
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Masculinity
Citation
Longobardi, Stefano. "Traumatized Masculinity: The Re-Negotiation of Masculinity Between Shell-Shocked Ex-Servicemen and the British State". BA Thesis, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy. 2018.