A Man Like You: Juan Domingo Perón and the Politics of Attraction in Mid-Twentieth-Century Argentina

This article explores how Argentine President Juan Domingo Peron broke with a previous political tradition by performing a masculinity that defied conventional mid-twentieth-century gender ideologies and greatly contributed to his political legitimacy. Although Peronism has received much scholarly attention, the role of Peron as a central character of propaganda has been generally ignored and its connection with masculinity remains unexplored. By examining images, the press and government documents, this article reveals that Peron unconventionally displayed representations of domesticity that focused on his roles as a husband and worker. These representations reinforced his image as kind and humble and his everyday life as simple and mundane in an era long before the now common depiction of state figures engaged in day-to-day activities: Peron embodied 'a domestic and domesticated leader' who was attractive and unthreatening to common men and women alike. Yet these images coexisted with others that highlighted his exceptionality. At times a worker in overalls and at others a superhero, Peron was the epitome of the uncommon commoner. Adapted from the source document.