Dismembering the Male: Men's Bodies, Britain, and the Great War (London: Reaktion Press and Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996)
In recent years, it has become obvious that notions of femininity were seriously disrupted during the First World war. But what happened to masculinity at the same time? Based on letters, diaries, and oral histories, this book explores the impact of the "war to end all wars" on the male body.
Joanna Bourke argues that military experiences led to a greater sharing of gender identities between men of different classes and ages. She concludes that attempts to construct a new type of masculinity failed as the threat of another war, and with it the sacrifice of a new generation of men, intensified.
Table of contents
Introduction: Embodiment
- Mutilating
- Malingering
- Bonding
- Inspecting
- Re-membering