This article is a consideration of the nexus of photography, masculinity, and American nationalism in the traumatic post-9/11 context of the war in Iraq. It begins by outlining a theoretical framework for the interpretation of contemporary images of men at war. This background informs the rest of the argument, which is structured around an analysis of a particular collection of images from a commemorative photo history of the ongoing conflict. The photos are freighted with particular narratives about the shape and meaning of militarized and imaged masculinity in the global war on terrorism, particularly as it intersects with race, ethnicity, and sexuality. Ultimately, the article contends that the relationships between visuality, nationalism, and masculinity are intimate, and that attention to this imbrication is essential to an understanding of the discourses and politics of the war.
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