Myths of Adolescence, Masculinity, and the Journey Toward Manhood: A Critical Content Analysis of Military Memoirs Marketed for Young Adult Boys

• In Event: Children’s Literature, Identity, and Power: Textual Ideologies and Students’ Collaborative Inquiry

Abstract

This paper reports on a critical content analysis of two non-fiction memoirs about experiences of male U.S. soldiers – both originally written for adults and subsequently adapted for young adults. The purpose of the study was to examine the different affordances and limitations each version of the two memoirs might provide for adolescent readers. Drawing on frameworks of masculinities and Critical Youth Studies, the findings we present in this session illustrate how the young adult versions of these memoirs are stripped of complexity and institutional critique sometimes found in the adult versions, and instead, uphold an array of myths about adolescence and masculinity.

Authors

• Mark Sulzer, The University of Iowa

• Amanda Haertling Thein, University of Iowa

• Renita Schmidt, University of Iowa