During World War II, American media consistently portrayed the typical young female Frank Sinatra fan as a disinterested citizen who failed to devote adequate attention to the war effort and harbored an inappropriate obsession with the pop idol. What contemporaneous critics and current scholars have generally not acknowledged, however, was how Sinatra fandom allowed thousands of American teenage girls to navigate their stressful, confusing, and often contradictory wartime realities with purpose and enthusiasm. This article examines wartime Frank Sinatra fan clubs through the lens of fan club newsletters and correspondences, which were authored, printed, and distributed entirely by the primarily teenage female members of these clubs. In contrast to professionally published press coverage and criticism, these fan-made texts provide unprecedented insight into how this specific fan community used their adoration of Sinatra as a base to explore international relationships, develop professional skills, and engage in personal expression amidst heightened feelings of nationalism and conflicting expectations regarding American gender roles.
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Winter 2019
