著者

板橋 晶子

出版者

ジェンダー史学会

雑誌

ジェンダー史学 (ISSN:18804357)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.5, pp.81-93, 2009

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This paper examines the images of women used in cosmetics advertising during World War II in the United States. Under conditions of full-scale war, the question of whether women should continue to be "glamorous as usual" by using cosmetics was a controversial subject. The national concern for applying makeup reflected the changing conditions of women and the public uneasiness about the ever-expanding role of women during the war.<BR>Advertising for cosmetics frequently depicted women war workers as doing "man-sized jobs," and performing a crucial role in the war effort. Despite such rigors, however, the women in the advertising kept their femininity intact by using cosmetics. Promoting their products as morale boosters, especially for women war workers, these advertisements often suggested to women the possibilities of being more self-assertive, self-confident, and of joining the war effort more actively, even transgressing the limits set by traditional gender norms.<BR>At the same time, women wearing makeup in public spaces often implied a sexually independent character, and could be seen as a challenge to conventional norms of acceptable sexual attitudes and behavior. Although sexually attractive women were required in wartime to provide entertainment to servicemen, the appearance of women in such overtly sexual roles was sometimes seen as "promiscuous."<BR>Nevertheless, cosmetics advertising during the war carefully circumscribed the limits of the traditional notions of gender and sexuality by appealing to women to buy and use their products in order to attract men, especially service men, holding out the hope of eventually finding a marriage partner. Although cosmetics had come to stand for a new meaning during the war&mdash;highlighted as essential for women's well being and good morale&mdash;they conveyed contradictory messages to women, and never offered a consistent answer to the question of why women should have continued to be "glamorous as usual."