"Hanoi Jane"

Joel S. Berson Berson at ATT.NET
Thu Jul 1 22:13:26 UTC 2010


A review of Jerry Lembcke's* _Hanoi Jane: War, Sex, and Fantasies of
Betrayal_ says:

     " 'Hanoi Jane,' Lembcke reports, does not appear in the
mainstream press until 1978. It only gained wide currency in
connection with protests over the filming of the romantic
working-class drama 'Stanley and Iris' in Waterbury, Conn., in 1988.
     " Lembcke bases his account of the Waterbury connection on
interviews with local veterans, including the retired general who
takes credit for 'having made "Hanoi Jane" the household phrase it
is,' as well as local anti-war activists. "

A quick glance in the Google Books mainstream press gives around 9
genuine hits in English for "Hanoi Jane" before 1978 (and about 118
additional raw results between 1978 and 1987 inclusive), with none before 1971.

     1971:  _Three Sisters_ (Georgetown Univ.), vols. 1-2.  [WorldCat
says this is held by 16 libraries, including Yale (but not,
apparently, Georgetown).]  "The public gasped at her support for
"Hanoi Jane" (Fonda), "Radical George" (McGovern), women's lib, and
abortion. I was at the airport on my way to Washington when I crossed
the path of this fire-breathing dragon lady of the pageant ..."

     1971: _New Guard_ (Young Americans for Freedom), Vol. 11-12. [A
volume 11 in 1971 is consistent with the starting date of
1961.  [Strangely, this only turned up when I asked for dates between
1970 and 1972; it is different from a 1973 hit.]  "Classified
Ads.  Poster: 'Wanted for treason: Hanoi Jane Fonda ... .' "

     1972:  _The Review of the News_.  [This too turned up only when
I asked for 1970 to 1972; it is different from a1977 hit.]  "Hanoi
Jane Promotes Red Line {bullet} Paris, July 25 ..."

     1973:  Thomas Kiernan, _Jane: an Intimiate Biography of Jane Fonda_.
     1974: _Ramparts_, vol. 13.  [Consistent with starting date of 1962.]
     1975:  _American Opinion_, vol. 18.  [Consistent with starting
date of 1958.]
     1975:  Lois Karen Baldwin, _Down on Bugger Run: family group and
the social base of folklore_, Part 1.  [A thesis, Graduate School of
Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, 1975; also an
"Internet Resource" published by ScholarlyCommons (OAIster).]
     1977:  William Sloane Coffin, _Once to Every Man: A Memoir_.

These are all No Preview, and thus without a page number.

Review in Boston Globe, July 1, 2010, page G 11.

* Author also of  _The spitting image : myth, memory, and the legacy
of Vietnam_,

I do not have access to newspaper archives.

Joel

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