Lipstick and High Heels

Cover 11/23/07 12:34 PM Page 1 EMILY SPENCER Lipstick and High Heels: Within the western historiography of gender, war and society, there continues to be considerable debate about how the world wars of the GENDER AND POPULAR CULTURE WAR, twentieth century may have affected gendered relationships. Lipstick and High Heels contributes to this debate by examining if and how the Second World War may have affected the images of women and men in Chatelaine magazine. This vivid account, which covers three formative decades of Canadian history through the lens of the modern Canadian woman, bears witness to the richness of our past and to the complexity of the relationships between war, gender and popular culture. Cover 11/23/07 12:34 PM Page 1 EMILY SPENCER Lipstick andHigh Heels: Within the western historiography of gender, war and society, there continues to be considerable debate about how the world wars of the GENDERANDPOPULAR CULTURE WAR, twentieth century may have affected gendered relationships. Lipstick and High Heels contributes to this debate by examining if and how the Second World War may have affected the images of women and men in Chatelaine magazine. This vivid account, which covers three formative decades of Canadian history through the lens of the modern Canadian woman, bears witness to the richness of our past and to the complexity of the relationships between war, gender and popular culture. 30285_Lipstick&Heels 11/23/07 12:25 PM Page a Lipstick& High Heels 30285_Lipstick&Heels 11/23/07 12:25 PM Page b 30285_Lipstick&Heels 11/23/07 12:25 PM Page c Lipstick and High Heels: WAR, GENDER AND POPULAR CULTURE Emily Spencer 30285_Lipstick&Heels 11/23/07 12:25 PM Page d Copyright © 2007 Her Majesty the Queen, as represented by the Minister of National Defence. Canadian Defence Academy Press PO Box 17000 Stn Forces Kingston, Ontario K7K 7B4 Produced for the Canadian Defence Academy Press by 17 Wing Winnipeg Publishing Office. WPO30285 Front Cover Photo: “Welcome Home – VE Day” by Silvia Pecota Courtesy Silvia Pecota Back Cover Photo: “The Bren Gun Girl” Photographer unknown, National Film Board of Canda, WRM 768, DAPDCAP562468 Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Spencer, Emily Lipstick and high heels : war, gender and popular culture / Emily Spencer. Issued by Canadian Defence Academy. Includes bibliographical references: p. ISBN 978-0-662-46283-5 (bound).--ISBN 978-0-662-46284-2 (pbk) Cat. no.: D2-208/1-2007E (bound) -- Cat. no.: D2-208/2-2007E (pbk) 1.Women--Press coverage--Canada--History--20th century. 2. Gender identity--Press coverage--Canada--History--20th century. 3. Sex roles--Press coverage--Canada--History--20th century. 4. World War, 1939-1945--Press coverage--Canada. 5. Chatelaine (Toronto, Ont. : 1928). I. Canadian Defence Academy II.Title. PN4914.W6S63 2007 070.4'83470971 C2007-980227-3 Printed in Canada. 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 30285_Lipstick&Heels 11/23/07 12:25 PM Page e For my mother, Claudia 30285_Lipstick&Heels 11/23/07 12:25 PM Page f 30285_Lipstick&Heels 11/23/07 12:25 PM Page i Acknowledgement Any work of this magnitude owes its completion to a host of individ- uals who directly or indirectly assisted in its production. As such, I would be remiss if I did not sincerely thank Dr. E. Jane Errington for all of her tireless efforts in helping me write this book. This volume would not be what it is today without the continuous inspiration and insight that she provided. I owe her my deepest gratitude for all the attention that she paid to the seemingly endless number of drafts that I provided. Colonel Bernd Horn also deserves special recognition. Without his motivation, endless encouragement and (gentle) prodding there was the real danger that this manuscript would have sat for a lengthy period before being put on the shelf to add to literature on gender, war and society. Colonel Horn deserves thanks for insisting that I “get on with it.” Additionally, I would like to thank the staff at both the Royal Military College of Canada’s Massey Library and Queen’s University Stauffer Library for their professional and responsive assistance. My research was greatly facilitated by the kind staffs at each institution. Last, but certainly not least, I must acknowledge all the support, guidance and encouragement that I received from family and friends. This net- work was invaluable in keeping me focused and inspired.To all of them I owe a great debt of gratitude. Like the stories of the women and men that are retold in Lipstick and High Heels, the process of writing this book is not reflective of the acts of a singular person; rather, it was the combination of certain 30285_Lipstick&Heels 11/23/07 12:25 PM Page ii Lipstick and High Heels instrumental people that allowed me to put pen to paper or, more precisely, finger to keyboard. I sincerely thank all of you and humbly recognize that what is good is reflective of this group dynamic and what is lacking is my sole responsibility. 30285_Lipstick&Heels 11/23/07 12:25 PM Page iii Table of Contents Foreword . .v Preface . .vii CHAPTER ONE Introduction: Studying Gender,War and Society . .1 CHAPTER TWO The Staff Behind Chatelaine’s Modern Woman . .37 CHAPTER THREE Learning to Live with a Man and Love It: Romance in Chatelaine . .65 CHAPTER FOUR Hearth and Home: the Cornerstones of Modern Womanhood and the Complements of the Father/Provider . .115 CHAPTER FIVE From Female to Feminine: Images of Women at Work . .155 CHAPTER SIX Prescribing the “Ideal”:Women, Nationalism and World Peace . .197 CHAPTER SEVEN Conclusions: Revisiting Chatelaine’s Modern Woman . .231 Bibliography . .239 About the Author . .253 Index . .255 30285_Lipstick&Heels 11/23/07 12:25 PM Page iv 30285_Lipstick&Heels 11/23/07 12:25 PM Page v Foreword I am delighted to have been asked to write this foreword to Lipstick and High Heels:War,Gender and Popular Culture.This book has been written by a new scholar who I have had the privilege of watching develop over the past few years. And the result is a study that provides fresh insight into the field of gender, war and society. The interplay of gender, war and popular culture has received little scholarly attention, particularly in the Canadian context. Yet, popular culture – magazines, television, and today, the internet – has been and continues to be an important vehicle through which gendered relationships have been shaped. Certainly many things, including the ways that women and men are viewed in contemporary Canadian society, have changed since the Second World War; at the same time, gendered relationships today continue to be shaped by those of the past. Moreover, such issues as balancing career and family are as relevant today for both men and women as they were in the mid twentieth century.The insights provided by this examination of Chatelaine magazine between the end of the 1920s and the mid 1950s provide a critical lens through which to understand the present. Understanding how war can and does affect culture is particularly relevant to Canadian Forces personnel today. In a world that is increas- ingly complex and that requires all the unique skills of those engaged in the profession of arms, military history of the kind offered by this study helps to fill an important niche in continuing education so vital to the development of the first class army. Lipstick and High Heels makes an v 30285_Lipstick&Heels 11/23/07 12:25 PM Page vi Lipstick and High Heels important contribution to our understanding of ourselves, one that should reach beyond the traditional scholarly audience to include those women and men who are actually engaged in conflict and directly implicated in forging those dynamic relationships between gender and FOREWORD war. E. Jane Errington Professor History Department Royal Military College of Canada vi 30285_Lipstick&Heels 11/23/07 12:25 PM Page vii Preface The Canadian Forces Leadership Institute (CFLI) is proud to release Lipstick and High Heels:War,Gender and Popular Culture under the auspices of the Canadian Defence Academy (CDA) Press. This title adds another important work to our ongoing effort to create a distinct body of Canadian literature on conflict, war and society. For too long, the Canadian Forces has relied on foreign examples, case studies and research to address issues important to our own distinct professional development. Through the seminal CFLI Strategic Leadership Writing Project, we have started to correct this imbalance. After all, we have a rich military heritage and moreover, Canadian examples are more pertinent and relevant to our own military culture, temperament and character. Lipstick and High Heels is a significant addition to the project. Written by Dr. Emily Spencer, it provides an excellent account of how war affects perceptions of gender in the popular media. Although Lipstick and High Heels is an examination of how the Second World War affected images of women and men in Chatelaine magazine, the conclusions underscore relationships that are particularly relevant today given the current defence environment. The interplay of gender, war and popular culture is an often neglected subject, yet one that arguably shapes many facets of our lives as Canadians. I believe you will find this book of great interest and value whether you are a military professional, a scholar or simply interested in the study of conflict and war. As always, we at CFLI and the CDA Press invite your comment and discussion. Colonel Bernd Horn Chairman, CDA Press vii 30285_Lipstick&Heels 11/23/07 12:25 PM Page viii 30285_Lipstick&Heels 11/23/07 12:25 PM Page 1 Chapter One Introduction: Studying Gender, War and Society To the women of Canada, Wherever we turn to day [sic], we see and hear the oft repeat- ed phrase “this is total war.” If we, the women of the Western World,accept this as literally true, we must fight for victory just as valiantly as our gallant soldiers, sailors and airmen.

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