Dec. 6th ---- Dangerous Liaisons

Yes I know this was like ages ago that we read it, but I still think it is one of the most interesting articles we have read this semester. I read an blog this week that dealt with this article and the women were bascially cast as vengeful sluts, not to put too fine a point upon it. The war certainly created a shift in power with regards to the sexes. Women became more assertive and aggresive, while at the same time their sexual mores were loosening. Yes, this was a huge change for the returning German soldiers, from the patriarchal society that they were used to. The woman was at home, raising the kids, and you get the picture. However, I think Biddiscombe give the women poor treatment and portraying their fraternization with Americans as solely based on the desire for good (cigs, chocolate), due to devastation and lack of such goods caused by the war. Why I do not have all the facts and have not researched the topic further, perhaps I should just take this at face value. I think the author really does not give any attempt to discover the emotional aspects that might have also played a role in the fraternization. Nevertheless, the treatment the women received from returning German soldiers, such as the cutting of their hair, etc., was certainly not warranted. As I said in my response, this just further shows the heartlessness of the German soldier. I understand what they were coming back to and their view that they were being betrayed by German women as they were fraternizing with the enemy who just beat them, but their obsession with the dominant patriarchal society is just sickening.