"Hanoi Jane"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Jane Fonda made her notorious visit to Hanoi in July, 1972.  Any earlier
exx. would be surprising - though not impossible, owing to her outspoken
criticism of American policy.

In the mid or late 1990s I saw a brand-new bumper sticker on a
late-model SUV that read, "Boycott Jane Fonda, Commie Bitch!"
JL
On Thu, Jul 1, 2010 at 6:13 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      "Hanoi Jane"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 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
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org