Title Keeping family secrets : shame and silence in memoirs from the 1950s / Margaret K. Nelson

Published New York : New York University Press, [2022]

Click on the following:
JSTOR eBooks

Copies

Description 1 online resource (180 pages) Contents Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- 1 The Presence of Absence -- 2 The Sounds of Silence -- 3 Paying the Price of Silence -- 4 Growing Up Red -- 5 Betrayal and Lies -- 6 Suddenly Jewish -- Conclusion -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author Summary From teen pregnancy and gay sexuality to Communism and disability, the startling secrets that families kept during the Cold War eraAll families have secrets but the facts requiring secrecy change with time. Nowadays A lesbian partnership, a "bastard" son, an aunt who is a prostitute, or a criminal grandfather might be of little or no consequence but could have unraveled a family at an earlier moment in history. Margaret K. Nelson is interested in how families keep secrets from each other and from outsiders when to do otherwise would risk eliciting not only embarrassment or discomfort, but profound shame and, in some cases, danger. Drawing on over 150 memoirs describing childhoods in the period between the aftermath of World War II and the 1960s, Nelson highlights the importance of history in creating family secrets and demonstrates the use of personal stories to understand how people make sense of themselves and their social worlds. Keeping Family Secrets uncovers hidden stories of same-sex attraction among boys, unwed pregnancies among teenage girls, the institutionalization of children with mental and physical disabilities, participation in left-wing political activities, adoption, and Jewish ancestry. The members of ordinary families kept these issues secret to hide the disconnect between the reality of their own family and the prevailing ideals of what a family should be. Personal accounts reveal the costs associated with keeping family secrets, as family members lie, hurl epithets, inflict abuse, and even deny family membership to protect themselves from the shame and danger of public knowledge. Keeping Family Secrets sheds light not only on decades-old secrets but pushes us to confront what secrets our families keep today Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on October 17, 2022) Subject Family secrets -- United States -- History -- 20th century Marginality, Social -- United States -- History -- 20th century Stigma (Social psychology) -- United States -- History -- 20th century SOCIAL SCIENCE / Ethnic Studies / American / General. Family secrets Marginality, Social Stigma (Social psychology) United States Genre/Form History Form Electronic book ISBN 1479815659 9781479815654

  Permalink