The Astronaut Family

The Astronaut Family: A case study in American Cold War gender representation in popular media

Nicholas Rhein

Life Magazine and the space program: Why look to Life?

• This presentation uses Life magazine articles about astronauts and their families in the 1950s-60s as an example of gender representation in the media during the Cold War

• Life was a news magazine centered on photojournalism; it was one of the most widely circulated publications in the U.S. in the mid-twentieth century

• Life began covering NASA's human spaceflight program in 1959

• It ran dozens of articles about human spaceflight from 1959-1972

• Life was most Americans' introduction to NASA, the astronauts, and human spaceflight in general (more on that later)

The Space Race

Before we delve into Life, let's take a step back and examine why the astronaut was created in the first place

Click on the rocket icons for more information on each subject!

The Space Race

-Hot war into Cold War

-Sputnik: Panic!

-NASA

-Project Mercury

America Meets the Astronauts

-Life becomes a space age messenger

The Astronauts

• Photographs of the 7 astronauts in Life magazine projected strength and technological prowess
• They showed a new and unique type of masculinity, one which was as studious and rational as it was sharp jawed and muscular

The Astronauts' wives and families

• The wives of all 7 Mercury astronauts were also featured in various Life magazine issues throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s
• Compared to those of the astronauts, the photographs of their wives and families project domesticity, mid-century conservatism, and an emotional side not seen in photographs of their husbands

Why include the families?

-Gender and the Cold War

-The Hero and the Everyman

-The "Perfect" Family

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-Bibliography