Overview

This book examines the many forces that shaped postwar French femininity as a desirable commodity, both within France and around the world. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the French government cultivated images of sensual and sophisticated white French women in an attempt to reestablish its global image as a great nation. French publicists, journalists, and government officials working in the tourism industry began a concerted effort to improve France's international image and win valuable tourist money by promoting the beauty, sexual appeal, and general allure of French women, all while shrinking the boundaries of what was considered beautiful. Charm Offensive explores how this elevation of French femininity created problems on both sides of the equation: the pressure on French women to conform to an exacting physical standard was immense, while the inability of anyone else to access that standard, coupled with the constant prods to try, resulted in a sense of failure. Drawing on cultural figures like Air France air hostesses, tourism workers, and celebrities such as Brigitte Bardot, the book demonstrates how women were mobilized as ambassadors of French superiority. Analysing cultural and political sources simultaneously, Charm Offensive offers an innovative understanding of a tumultuous time of decolonisation.

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9781487525828

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Reviews

Kelly Ricciardi Colvin's compelling history traces the significance of soft power in French diplomacy at a time of defeat and decolonization and offers an entirely novel perspective on the making of postwar French national identity. - Carolyn J. Dean, Charles J. Stille Professor of History and French, Yale University This richly researched book details how France's postwar government created an image of French femininity and then exported this cultural commodity abroad. It provides the fascinating history behind enduring perceptions of French women as slender, beautiful, and sophisticated. Moreover, it makes essential contributions to our understanding of France's postwar position, including French efforts to raise their country's international profile during the Cold War. - Margaret Andersen, Associate Professor of History, University of Tennessee Knoxville This truly fascinating study not only helps us understand the way culture, gender, and politics intersected in postwar French history, but it also takes up a central cultural image of postwar French society - the Air France air hostess - and carefully explains how and why this image became the powerful and enduring cultural icon that it did. - Maud S. Mandel, President and Professor of History, Williams College

Author Information

Kelly Ricciardi Colvin is an assistant professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

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