Date of Award
2000
Document Type
Restricted Thesis
Terms of Use
© 2000 Will Mackintosh. All rights reserved. Access to this work is restricted to users within the Swarthmore College network and may only be used for non-commercial, educational, and research purposes. Sharing with users outside of the Swarthmore College network is expressly prohibited. For all other uses, including reproduction and distribution, please contact the copyright holder.
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
History Department
First Advisor
Bruce Dorsey
Abstract
Mackintosh’s thesis looks at transitioning attitudes towards gender and class in the early 20th century through vacationers’ attitudes towards the Adirondack mountains. He examines the “masculine primitive” explored by sportsmen, as well as the “masculine domesticity” of family vacations in which men shared domestic roles. The Adirondacks, regarded as exceptional wilderness, provided a safe space for middle-class men and women to renegotiate and experiment with identifications of gender and class. Through guidebooks, narratives, and personal records, Mackintosh argues that this experimentation reflects Judith Butler’s conception of gender as cultural performance and that the appeal of the Adirondacks to tourists was rooted in this opportunity.
Recommended Citation
Mackintosh, Will , '00, "Wilderness Scenery and the Theater of Gender: Middle-Class Vacationers in the Adirondacks in the Late Nineteenth Century" (2000). Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards. 543.
https://works.swarthmore.edu/theses/543
Comments
Recipient of the Paul H. Beik Prize in History, awarded in 2000.