Mama's Boy : Momism and Homophobia in Postwar American Culture

In Postwar America, The Discourse Of 'momism' Advanced The Idea That An Over-affectionate Or Too-distant Mother Hampers The Social And Psychosexual Development Of Her Children, In Particular Her Sons. Deemed Worst Of All Was The Outcome Of Homosexuality, Since The Period Saw An Intense Policing Of Sexual Deviance. Roel Van Den Oever Zooms In On Four Instances Of The Cultural Representation Of Momism: The Grotto, By Grace Zaring Stone, Suddenly Last Summer, By Tennessee Williams, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, And Portnoy's Complaint, By Philip Roth, To Offer New Commentary On Canonical Texts, A Particular Moment In American Culture, And Future Reading Strategies.--p. [4] Of Cover. Momism And The Lavender Scare -- Oppositional Reading And The Grotto -- Narrative Closure And Suddenly Last Summer -- Character Engagement And Psycho -- Laughter/ridicule And Portnoy's Complaint. Roel Van Den Oever. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [195]-204) And Index. "In postwar America, the discourse of 'Momism' advanced the idea that an over-affectionate or too-distant mother hampers the social and psychosexual development of her children, in particular her sons. Deemed worst of all was the outcome of homosexuality, since the period saw an intense policing of sexual deviance. Roel van den Oever zooms in on four instances of the cultural representation of Momism: The grotto, by Grace Zaring Stone, Suddenly last summer, by Tennessee Williams, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, and Portnoy's complaint, by Philip Roth, to offer new commentary on canonical texts, a particular moment in American culture, and future reading strategies."--Page 4 of cover In postwar America, sociologists and psychiatrists held that a mother who was over-affectionate or too-distant could hurt her son's development, resulting in conditions such as asthma, autism, and schizophrenia. Deemed worst of all was a gay son, since the country was in the midst of Senator Joseph McCarthy's witch-hunt against communists and homosexuals alike. This book examines the cultural representation of Momism and homophobia at the time, discussing texts by Tennessee Williams, Alfred Hitchcock, and Philip Roth, and reintroducing the largely forgotten novel "The Grotto." Front Matter....Pages i-v Introduction....Pages 1-3 Momism and the Lavender Scare....Pages 5-36 Oppositional Reading and The Grotto....Pages 37-73 Narrative Closure and Suddenly Last Summer....Pages 75-106 Character Engagement and Psycho....Pages 107-145 Laughter/Ridicule and Portnoy’s Complaint....Pages 147-179 Conclusion....Pages 181-185 Back Matter....Pages 187-209