Italian Women's Experiences with American Consumer Culture, 1945–1975: The Italian Mrs. Consumer PDF
Preview Italian Women's Experiences with American Consumer Culture, 1945–1975: The Italian Mrs. Consumer
ITALIAN AND ITALIAN AMERICAN STUDIES Italian Women’s Experiences with American Consumer Culture, 1945–1975 The Italian Mrs. Consumer Jessica L. Harris Italian and Italian American Studies Series Editor Stanislao G. Pugliese Hofstra University Hempstead, NY, USA This series brings the latest scholarship in Italian and Italian American history, literature, cinema, and cultural studies to a large audience of specialists, general readers, and students. Featuring works on modern Italy (Renaissance to the present) and Italian American culture and society by established scholars as well as new voices, it has been a longstanding force in shaping the evolving fields of Italian and Italian American Studies by re-emphasizing their connection to one another. Editorial Board Rebecca West, University of Chicago Josephine Gattuso Hendin, New York University Fred Gardaphé, Queens College, CUNY Phillip V. Cannistraro†, Queens College and the Graduate School, CUNY Alessandro Portelli, Università di Roma “La Sapienza” William J. Connell, Seton Hall University More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14835 Jessica L. Harris Italian Women’s Experiences with American Consumer Culture, 1945–1975 The Italian Mrs. Consumer Jessica L. Harris St. John’s University Queens, NY, USA Italian and Italian American Studies ISBN 978-3-030-47824-7 ISBN 978-3-030-47825-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47825-4 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: colaimages / Alamy Stock Photo This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland To Granny Vee, Uncle Bucky, and Aunt Annette A cknowledgments I have many people to thank for the roles they have played in this project, which began during my PhD studies. I would like to thank my dissertation committee members Brenda Stevenson, Geoffrey Symcox, Kathryn Norberg, Robin D. G. Kelley, and John A. Agnew for their support, guid- ance, and the time they dedicated to this project. Professors Norberg, Kelley, and Agnew gave me invaluable insight, advice, and suggestions. Professors Symcox and Stevenson supported this project from the very beginning and helped shape it into a broader and more diverse narrative. Professor Symcox’s personal accounts of being in Italy during the time period under study provided me with important insight into Italian cul- ture at that time, and the stories were also a delight to listen to. I have been working with Professor Stevenson for over ten years now, from when I first entered UCLA’s Afro-American Studies Master’s program. During these years, she has been a true mentor and has shaped the scholar that I have become. I cannot thank her enough for this. The research for this project was conducted in Italy, and I am grateful to the archivists and librarians in Milan, Rome, and Pieve Santo Stefano who assisted me with my research. In Rome, the staff at the Fondazione Istituto Gramsci helped me with Noi Donne. In Milan, the librarians at the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense and the Biblioteca Palazzo Sormani, in particular the deposito esterno, helped me with understanding the Italian library system, as well as with my research on the numerous magazines consulted at their libraries. I also am grateful to the archivists, in particular Tiziano Chiesa, and the staff at the Fondazione Arnoldo e Alberto vii viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Mondadori in Milan. Everyone at Bocconi University in Milan, where I consulted the Archivio Brustio-La Rinascente—from the staff at the Welcome Desk who helped me with my ID card to the library director Dr. Marisa Santasiero who authorized my visit and the reproduction of the archival material to the archivists, Tiziana Dassi, Silvia Franz, and Gianmarco Ambrosetti, with whom I worked on a daily basis—were very friendly and accommodating. I am very appreciative for this and their assistance. In Pieve Santo Stefano, the staff at the Archivio Diaristico Nazionale, especially Cristina Cangi, offered great assistance with my research in their collection. I would also like to thank Marco Calini, Silvia Magistrali, and Sonia Orlandi, whom I met and worked with in Milan. Marco retrieved crucial information on Ignis for me while Silvia and Sonia, at RCS MediaGroup, were great in helping me with my research on Annabella and with bring- ing to my attention other archival material that was pertinent to this proj- ect and my other scholarly and cultural interests. Marco, Silvia, and Sonia went beyond just assisting me with my research. They were always so wel- coming and kind, inviting me to lunch, movies, and even the symphony. I would also like to thank Giuseppe Betti for showing me his Milan and always taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with me whenever I was in town. They all made my time in Milan a very enjoyable experience. I am truly grateful for their kindness and to be able to have them as friends. I also would like to thank Emanuela Scarpellini for her suggestions and insight into this project, as well as Kathryn Renton and Stephanie Amerian who read parts of the manuscript. I am also grateful for Manuela Terenzi’s assistance with some of the peskier translations of the articles and adver- tisements. Furthermore, part of Chap. 5 previously appeared in Modern Italy, 22(1), © 2017 Association for the Study of Modern Italy, published by Cambridge University Press as “‘In America è vietato essere brutte’: Advertising American beauty in the Italian women’s magazine Annabella, 1945–1965” and Chap. 6 previously appeared in Carte Italiane 2 (11) as “Noi Donne and Famiglia Cristiana: Communists, Catholics, and American Female Culture in Cold War Italy.” I must mention other people I have met while working on this project that have become great friends these past years and have always been there to listen to me discuss the developments of the book. Andrew Gomez, who also read sections of the manuscript, was always there to offer very insightful advice. Rosario Forlenza was another great source ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix of information, archival suggestions, and support. While finishing the manuscript in Toronto, I was fortunate to meet and become friends with Alberto Zambenedetti, Eloisa Morra, Damiano Acciarino, Alice Martignoni, and Daniele Laudadio. They were always available to discuss the latest Serie A, MLS, or Italian pop music news when I needed a break. Grazie mille! This project would not have been possible without the funding I received from several sources at UCLA. I received the Eugene V. Cota- Robles Fellowship from the Graduate Division; the Quinn Fellowship and a travel research grant from the History Department; the Penny Kanner Dissertation Research Fellowship from the Center for the Study of Women; and a Summer FLAS Language Grant from the UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies. I would also like to thank the History Department for providing me with funding to present my research at several conferences. Finally, I would like to thank my parents. They have always been there for me, providing me with guidance and cheering me on in my academic and non-academic pursuits. I would not be where I am today without their unflagging love and support. Thank you, I love you guys so much! c ontents 1 Introduction: Italy and the Arrival of Mrs. Consumer 1 Part I 25 2 How to Read like Mrs. Consumer: Modernizing and Americanizing the Mondadori Publishing Company’s Magazine Division 27 3 How to Shop and Dress like Mrs. Consumer: Rebuilding La Rinascente the American Way 51 Part II 87 4 How to Shop, Store, and Cook Food like Mrs. Consumer: The Refrigerator, Women, and the Italian Home 89 5 How to Be Beautiful like Mrs. Consumer: American Beauty and Italian Women 127 xi
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