‘Marriage’, ‘Massage', Metaphor and Gender in US–Iranian Relations During the 1960s

OFFILER, Ben (2018). ‘Marriage’, ‘Massage', Metaphor and Gender in US–Iranian Relations During the 1960s. The International History Review, 1-16.

[img]
Preview
PDF
Offiler-MarriageMassageMetaphor(AM).pdf - Accepted Version
All rights reserved.

Download (338kB) | Preview
Official URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/070753...
Link to published version:: https://doi.org/10.1080/07075332.2018.1517817

Abstract

Although they were allies, during the 1960s relations between the United States and Iran were fraught with tensions. For American policymakers, Iran was an important Cold War client and oil-supplier in a turbulent region. It was vital, therefore, to maintain a good relationship with the Shah of Iran. Indeed, United States policy was based in large part on American assessments of the Shah as an individual. This article seeks to assess how the language and metaphors used by American policymakers to describe and understand the Shah reflected and informed United States policy. Officials within the Kennedy and Johnson administrations viewed the Shah through a highly gendered lens that magnified perceptions of him as a weak, highly sensitive and irrational leader – characteristics deemed to be overly feminine. This article therefore contends that US policy towards Iran was influenced by gender stereotypes as policymakers lamented their reliance on the Shah, who they deemed to be insufficiently 'masculine'.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: ** From Crossref via Jisc Publications Router **Journal IDs: pissn 0707-5332; eissn 1949-6540
Uncontrolled Keywords: Cultural Studies, Sociology and Political Science, History
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1080/07075332.2018.1517817
Page Range: 1-16
SWORD Depositor: Margaret Boot
Depositing User: Margaret Boot
Date Deposited: 22 Jan 2019 16:46
Last Modified: 17 Mar 2021 16:02
URI: https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/23550

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics