Compromising positions : sex scandals, politics, and American Christianity / Leslie Dorrough Smith.

9780190924102 (electronic book)

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2020.

English

1 online resource.

JK468.L43

324.273012

'Compromising Positions' argues that sex scandals aren't really about sex. Rather, they are a form of cultural theatre - a moment of highly visible, public storytelling - the purpose of which is to use specific racial and gendered symbols to create a collective sense of national worth and strength. To arrive at this conclusion, the text charts the ways in which attitudes about gender, race, and religion are woven together to create a certain sort of rhetoric about what America is, who is eligible to formally represent it, and what types of religiosity such leaders must display in order to legitimize their power.

'Compromising Positions' argues that sex scandals aren't really about sex. Rather, they are a form of cultural theatre - a moment of highly visible, public storytelling - the purpose of which is to use specific racial and gendered symbols to create a collective sense of national worth and strength. To arrive at this conclusion, the text charts the ways in which attitudes about gender, race, and religion are woven together to create a certain sort of rhetoric about what America is, who is eligible to formally represent it, and what types of religiosity such leaders must display in order to legitimize their power.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Access limited to authorized users.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on July 10, 2020).

Oxford scholarship online.

Print version: 9780190924072

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