Re Not Little Babies Anymore': a Cultural History of Small Girls in America, 1920-1945
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Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2014 'We're Not Little Babies Anymore': A Cultural History of Small Girls in America, 1920-1945 Stella A. Ress Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Women's History Commons Recommended Citation Ress, Stella A., "'We're Not Little Babies Anymore': A Cultural History of Small Girls in America, 1920-1945" (2014). Dissertations. 911. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/911 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 2014 Stella A. Ress LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO “WE’RE NOT LITTLE BABIES ANYMORE”: A CULTURAL HISTORY OF SMALL GIRLS IN AMERICA, 1920-1945 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM IN HISTORY BY STELLA A. RESS CHICAGO, IL MAY 2014 Copyright by Stella A. Ress, 2014 All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Despite the fact that writing a dissertation seemed like a lonely endeavor as I was enmeshed in the process, upon reflection, I truly realized that its completion was only possible with the help of a great many others. Thus, I am truly humbled by all the assistance I received throughout the years from Loyola University and many of the faculty from its Department of History, from my friends and colleagues, and from my family. First, thank you to my knowledgeable committee members. Dr. Patricia Mooney- Melvin, I view your assistance throughout my academic career (from my first days as a masters student to my final days working on my dissertation) as nothing less than heroic. You are more than a mentor; you are a friend. Dr. Susan Hirsch, your insights and suggestions completely transformed (and elevated) my final copy. You are the teacher who I most try to emulate in the classroom. Dr. Lewis Erenberg, the person most responsible for this labor of love and for shaping me into the historian who I am today, I owe you a great debt of gratitude. A heartfelt thank you to you all. Thank you also to Loyola Chicago’s Department of History. In many ways, these have been the best years of my life (so far). And a great many thanks to the Loyola University Chicago Graduate School who funded many years of my research through my various assistantships, the Advanced Dissertation Fellowship, and the Arthur J. Schmitt Dissertation Fellowship. Thank you to my friends and colleagues, many of whom pored iii over various drafts of chapters and/or listened to me talk incessantly about my topic. I dare not try to mention you all by name, but you know who you are. To my growing family, a most hearty εµχαριστω. You encouraged me when I was down, and never gave up on me. I leaned on each of you throughout the years and for your steadfastness, I am most grateful. I love you all. And finally, grazie a Francesco. I wouldn’t have finished without you and your support. You are the love of my life. iv To my family TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii ABSTRACT vii INTRODUCTION: ‘TO THE LADIES’: THE RISE OF DEPICTIONS OF YOUNG GIRLS IN POPULAR MEDIA 1 CHAPTER 1: ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE: THE PREADOLESCENT ACTRESS, 1840-1920 26 CHAPTER 2: CLOSING THE GAPS: LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE IN THE 1920S AND 1930S 59 CHAPTER 3: DADDY’S GIRL AND MOMMY’S RIVAL: SHIRLEY TEMPLE AND THE ANSWER TO THE 1930S GENDER CRISIS 116 CHAPTER 4: SUPPORTER, SOLDIER, SHOPPER, AND SIDEKICK: AMERICAN GIRLS ON THE HOME FRONT 157 CONCLUSION 212 BIBLIOGRAPHY 218 VITA 242 vi ABSTRACT The appearance of high-profile girl characters in popular culture media of all types soared between the years from 1924, when Little Orphan Annie first appeared in the comic section of newspapers, to 1945, when teenage girls replaced their younger sisters in the spotlight. As such, girl culture of the 1920s through the 1940s experienced a boon in popularity never before witnessed. And yet, despite substantial evidence that point to the impact preadolescent girls had on society during this time, surprisingly scholars have left the experiences of these girls and their depictions in popular entertainment unexplored. For historians, this raises a number of questions. Why were young girls so ubiquitous within popular media during this time? Why have they been ignored until now? And more to the point, what purpose(s) did their characterizations serve and for whom? “‘We’re Not Little Babies Anymore: A Cultural History of Small Girls in America, 1920-1945,” explores these questions within an historical context and utilizes a different medium of popular culture for each era. Thus, in the 1920s, comic strips of the newspapers are explored; in the 1930s, it is actresses in film. Finally, in the 1940s, voice actresses in children’s radio programming. As the first true “case study” of my dissertation, chapter two, “Closing the Gaps: Little Orphan Annie in the 1920s and 1930s,” is a close analysis of Little Orphan Annie in her many incarnations. As Americans grappled with significant and growing tensions vii between the worlds of the adult and of the child, between rural versus urban living, and between traditional views of women and children and of modern ones, Annie provided one solution to their anxieties: she helped bridge the gap between such tensions. Thus, through her varied appearances throughout popular media, Annie brought parents and their children nearer to each other in attitude and experience, brought a new understanding of city life to rural folks (and vice versa), and helped pave the way for a modern interpretation of the value of children in general, and girls and orphans in particular. Shirley Temple, the most famous child actress of the era, is the focus of chapter three, “Daddy’s Girl and Mommy’s Rival: Shirley Temple and the Answer to the 1930s Gender Crisis.” Actresses such as Shirley Temple became society’s solution to a growing gender crisis that was exacerbated by Depression. This chapter shows how Shirley Temple provided the answer to a growing tension between men and women. In her films and public persona, Temple gave men a purpose. At the same time, she deflated the burgeoning power women enjoyed in the earlier years of the financial crisis. Thus, Temple helped to restore the “traditional” balance of power between men and women that was threatened by Depression. Chapter four, “Supporter, Soldier, Shopper, and Sidekick: Girls on the Home Front,” is a close examination of the small girl in the medium of radio. As the cheapest and most accessible form of entertainment during the war, radio democratized news and entertainment like no other medium before it. Programs geared for children, such as Jack Armstrong—The All American Boy and Terry and the Pirates, engaged children in the war effort. They also entertained new models of behavior and roles for young girls. viii Girls, during this time period, helped Americans endure war and envision a future of peace. Ultimately, the research indicates that generators of popular culture, as well as their audiences, used the pre-adolescent girl as a visual representation on which to project their fears and hopes of today and tomorrow. Society championed the image of a strong female character, albeit in the form of a little girl, which demonstrates that Americans wanted to afford all (white) women the opportunity to grow beyond the Victorian feminine ideal. That being said, they chose to promote the image of the “small” girl because she would always be subordinated to the patriarchy. Despite her rise in depictions and the power she enjoyed because of it, in the end, the preadolescent girl was still just a little girl and at most, she would only grow up to be a member of yet another marginalized group in America: that of women. Thus, unlike a little boy, a little girl’s power had limits and always would. With her perceived physical, mental, and emotional limitations, she could never grow up to truly challenge the adult man and thus, the patriarchal status quo. ix ! INTRODUCTION ‘TO THE LADIES’: THE RISE OF DEPICTIONS OF YOUNG GIRLS IN POPULAR MEDIA “Have you ever noticed,” one letter writer rhetorically asked in the January 1936 issue of Photoplay magazine, “that, although the most exciting phrase in any language is said to be: “It’s a boy!” the world’s most interesting and famous children at present are all girls?”1 For evidence, Mary Crary, the letter-writer from New York with an apparent affinity for popular culture, cited three international examples: Child star Shirley Temple from the United States, Princess Elizabeth of York (better known by her later name, Queen Elizabeth II) from Great Britain, and the world’s first surviving quintuplets, the Dionne sisters from Canada. As Crary’s $1 prize-winning opinion piece titled “To the Ladies” continued, she commended motion pictures for “making us realize as photographs and written articles alone could never do, how completely appealing small girls can be.”2 Indeed, though scholars often refer to the twentieth-century as the century of the child, female youngsters’ overwhelming presence in popular culture indicates that the late 1920s through the early 1940s belonged solely to the young girl.3 During these !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 Mary Crary, “To the Ladies,” letter to the editor, Photoplay 49, no.