Irresponsibility, Obligation, and the "Manly Modern": Tensions in Working-class Masculinities in Postwar Saint John, New Brunswick

Historians have analyzed working-class masculinities from multiple perspectives, but few have examined how these masculinities were viewed and experienced by working-class women. Ida Martin (nee Friars), a working-class diarist from Saint John, New Brunswick, commented on the work-related activities and social behaviours of her husband, Allan Robert Martin (AR), a longshoreman and odd-jobber. Ida’s diaries reveal that older forms of working-class masculinity persisted in the postwar period in Saint John, including participation in a homosocial recreational culture; risk-taking behaviour; and a commitment to direct action as a form of labour unrest. Moreover, Martin’s diaries illustrate that AR’s participation in these forms of masculinity threatened the stability of the family economy. By documenting AR’s various injuries, the diaries also highlight the impact that physically demanding and dangerous work had on working-class male bodies.