Gendered Representations of the Nation’s Past and Future

"Gendered Representations of the Nation’s Past and Future" is an essay included in the book Gendered Nations: Nationalisms and Gender Order in the Long Nineteenth Century. In recent years, nations, nationalism, and the nation-state have enjoyed a resurgence of scholarly interest. The focus on the twentieth century, however, has neglected the crucial developmental phase of modern nationalism, when basic patterns were created that were to exert long-term influence on the political culture of nations in and outside Europe. This essay examines the gendered representations of nations  and how they were used to legitimize and limit the access of individuals and groups to the resources of nation-states.