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Suffering Saint, Asexual Victorian Woman, Or Queer Icon? Cinematic Representations Of Eleanor Roosevelt, Angela Beauchamp

MALS Final Projects, 1995-2019

This critical discourse analysis examines representations of Eleanor Roosevelt in a wide range of biographical, docudrama, and documentary film and television from 1945 to 2014. By focusing on the figure known by many as the most important woman of the twentieth century, and one who appears as a character or subject in over eighty movies and television programs, I investigate recurring discourses around heteronormativity and cultural constructions of gender and sexuality for American women over time. These filmic portrayals reveal attempts to normalize Eleanor's life, framing her accomplishments and motivations through lenses of marriage and family, or they "queer" Eleanor's …