Document Type
Article
Abstract
I will be keen to track how “adulthood,” “maturity,” “dependence” and “independence,” and the feminine/masculine function, and how these inform political discussions in the United States. I contend that the metaphor of parent and child is used with such fervor precisely because this one simple image clearly visualizes a panoply of narratives conservatives hold about Europe. The image invokes questions of authority and authorship — who gets to “author” the idea that Europe is a child in the first place? – and makes Europe exist as these Americans “know” it.7 This renders America’s superiority both explicit and implicit. Although I believe the metaphor may advance our understanding of current transatlantic relations, I am also aware that through the inherent paradoxes I intend to lay bare, it may complicate and problematize that very understanding.
Recommended Citation
Baarsen, G.H. Joost
(2013)
"“Sucking on [America’s] Tit”: Metaphorical Dimensions of the Family in Conservative American Discourses on Europe,"
Traversea: The Journal of Transatlantic History: Vol. 3, Article 5.
Available at:
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/traversea/vol3/iss1/5