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1、192BOOKREVIEWSManipulatingMasculinity:WarandGenderinModernBritishandAmeri-canLiterature.'&yY^'rHYJ.PHILLIPS.NewYork:PalgraveMacmillan,2006.Pp.240.$74.95(cloth).InManipulatingMasculinityKathyPhillipsanalyzesasweepingrangeofBritishandAmericanwarliteraturetoexplorewhymencons
2、entedtoserveintwentieth-centurywarsdespitetheincrediblecarnageoftheseconflicts.Drawingonarichbodyofcriticalandgendertheory,Phillipscontendsthatstronglypolarizedsocialgenderconstructsultimatelycompelledmanymentogo"towartoprovetheywerenot'sissies'"(3).Phillips'scentralthesis
3、isthat"societieswhicharbitrarilylabelanumberofpurelyhumantraits'feminine'"caneffectivelymanipulatemalecitizenstogotowarbecause"menareboundtodetectsomeofthesehumantraitsinthemselves—andthenworrythattheyhavestrayedintoafeminineinferiorrealm"(2).Ultimately,Phillipssuggeststha
4、ttheU.S.andBritishmilitariesrepeatedlydrewupontheseanxietiesandpolarizinggenderdiscoursesnotonlytoinspirementofightbutalsotocreateincreasinglybrutalmodelsofmilitarymasculinityoverthecourseofthetwentiethcentury.Itisimportanttonote,asPhillipsherselfpointsoutititheintroductio
5、n,thatManipulatingMasculinityexaminesneitherthecausesofvariouswarsnortheactualattitudesoremotionsofveteranswhoservedintheseconflicts.Instead,Phillips'sstudyanalyzesnovels,plays,poems,shortstories,andmemoirstoinvestigatehowservicemen'sconsenttowarisimaginedalongwiththewaysl
6、iteraturehelpstransmit"manysociallyassumedconnectionsbetweengenderdefinitionsandwar"(5).Thus,despitePhillips'sintentiontoengagethefieldsofmilitaryhistory,internationalrelations,andpoliti-calscience(10),thebook'sscantuseofmilitarysourcesorotherarchivalmaterialslimitsitspote
7、ntialuseftilnesstoscholarsintheseareas.Phillips'salmostexclusivefocusonliteraryandselectedcinematictexts,however,allowshertoinvestigatemanynoncanonicalworksalongsideclassicwarnovels,openingnewdirectionsofstudyforthefieldsofliteraryandwarandgenderstudies.Toorganizeherexamin
8、ationofthisextensivebodyofwarliterature,PhillipsoffersseparatechaptersonWorldWarI,WorldWa
