Episode Details

17: Good Girls, Good Food, Good Fun by Dr. Meghan Winchell

Nov 2, 2021

At the height of World War II, over 3,000 USO clubs served 1 million soldiers throughout the United States. Linda and Nancy discuss Dr. Meghan Winchell’s fascinating book, Good Girls, Good Food, Good Fun: The Story of USO Hostesses during World War II. The story of the USO is told through the memories of those who volunteered and visited the USO clubs, as well as through Meghan’s in-depth research exploring issues of sexism, racism, and classism.

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Front Porch Book Club
17: Good Girls, Good Food, Good Fun by Dr. Meghan Winchell
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On The Porch

Linda Culbertson, Nancy Shank

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Good Girls, Good Food, Good Fun: The Story of USO Hostesses during World War II

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Episode Notes

17: Good Girls, Good Food, Good Fun by Dr. Meghan Winchell

Linda and Nancy discuss their paltry previous knowledge of the USO and highlight some of the most surprising things they learned reading this book. The USO was hugely important to service members. Half of all soldiers described them as having “great importance” to them. But, the USO clubs reinforced very traditional gender stereotypes recruiting white, middle-class girls to provide safe, healthy entertainment for the soldiers. This model largely excluded less affluent, minority-representing women from volunteering. The USOs was not prepared to provide fun for service members who were not white, middle-class, male, and straight. Linda and Nancy recount some of their favorite anecdotes from the book. They also talk about how their family members contributed to the war on the home front. They imagine they might have done to support the war effort.