Review of Jenny Barker-Devine, “Why, you can be a journalist, kid: The Emerald Goose and Women's Journalism at Iowa State College during World War I,” The Annals of Iowa 75, no.4 (2016): 376-405.
By Lily Olsen and Kenzie Palmer
“Why, you can be a journalist, kid: The Emerald Goose and Women’s Journalism at Iowa State College during World War I” is an article written by Dr. Jenny Barker-Devine and published in the Annals of Iowa journal in 2016. Barker-Devine is a professor of history at Illinois College, and in this article she discusses the establishment and significance of the Emerald Goose, a women’s journalism magazine at Iowa State College. The magazine was published during World War I, and it highlighted the role of women in journalism and their efforts to assert their presence in a male-dominated field.
The Emerald Goose was launched by the women of Theta Sigma Phi and Iowa State College in April 1918 as a response to the absence of male students due to World War I. The story began in March 1917, more than a year before the initial publication of the Emerald Goose. A group of women at Iowa State College sought a charter from Theta Sigma Phi with the clear intention of promoting women’s journalism at ISC.[1] This journal was aimed at uplifting spirits during wartime and providing a platform for women’s voices in journalism. The Emerald Goose provided a unique platform for women to express their experiences and critique gender norms through humor. Published between 1914 and 1918, the magazine emerged during a period of significant social unrest. Barker-Devine explained that over the course of four years and four issues, the Emerald Goose showed the complexity and limits of humor in challenging established gender norms.[2] Unlike the male-dominated Green Gander, the Emerald Goose allowed women to address their collegiate experiences authentically.
The Emerald Goose challenged gender inequality in its first publication. The authors did this with poems, stories, and humor. Students at Iowa State had a strict code of conduct they were expected to follow, with women’s being stricter than men's. This included women’s curfews, where they were allowed to live, when they could leave, and more. Women would receive strict punishments for not following the rules. Men did not receive the same treatment. The entire 1919 issue of The Emerald Goose was filled with poems and stories questioning the double standards.[3] They did this to call for equality between genders. A short story titled “Dorian Dewey’s Dilemma—How will it be in Ames in 1975?” showed this. It playfully reversed the general roles of males and females. It created young college men whose lives were strictly regulated to preserve their sexual purity.[4] The theme of the second publication continued the conversation of rules and limitations but extended it to the student body as a whole. Students on campus were enraged by strict rules put in place. The Emerald Goose challenged this when they published a survey that revealed how many men the women had kissed on campus.
These stories are just a few of the many examples Barker-Devine uses to show the controversial publications of the Emerald Goose and the impacts it had on Iowa State College. The journal revealed the realities of life for women on college campuses. The women who wrote for the Emerald Goose used their platform to call for change and challenged social norms through a style that was signature to them.
[1] Barker-Devine, J. “Why, you can be a journalist, kid: The Emerald Goose and Women's Journalism at Iowa State College during World War I.” The Annals of Iowa 75, no.4 (2016): 379.
[2] Barker-Devine, “Why, you can be a journalist, kid,” 387.
[3] Barker-Devine, “Why, you can be a journalist, kid,” 392.
[4] Barker-Devine, “Why, you can be a journalist, kid,” 393.