There could be a commendable study buried in this academic gobbledegook, but at least it touches on a topic which must have affected, and still affects and will continue to affect, a lot of men in a lot of wars. And their families.
“If He Comes Home Nervous”: U.S. World War II Neuropsychiatric Casualties and Postwar Masculinities.
Abstract:
This essay analyzes representations of psychiatric casualties in advice literature and mainstream news periodicals of the late war (World War II) and early postwar period. Because they explicitly exposed the emotional side of men and challenged a warrior ideal predicated upon bravery, self-mastery, control, and courage under fire, mentally wounded veterans, I argue, became especially important subjects for cultural rehabilitation and remasculinization in the postwar victory culture. In addition to exploring the various rhetorical strategies that writers used to normalize and to remasculinize psychiatric casualties, the article briefly examines some fissures within military ideals of masculinity. Ultimately, I suggest that the relational nature and (re)constructions of these models of manhood highlight the complexity of both the heroic and the abject masculinities created by war.