Gendering the Jubilee: Gender and Modernity in the Diamond Jubilee of Confederation Celebrations, 1927

Abstract

This article explores the nexus of gender, modernity, and visuality in the Diamond Jubilee of Confederation celebrations in 1927. Using the jubilee as a case study of the continuing conservative elements after the First World War, this essay argues that jubilee material promoted the idea that certain men had the ability to see the potential of the nation in relation to particular spaces, especially the North. Further, in privileging a specific group of modern men, jubilee organizers argued that this ‘sight’ echoed the foresight of the Fathers of Confederation. The appeal to men's allegedly innate vision also helped shore up a perceived embattled modern, white, bourgeois masculinity. This article also briefly discusses the impact of this gendering of vision in regard to women's perceived roles in nation-building, particularly in relation to Miss Canada and the underlying ambiguities concerning modernity.