The latest issue of the British Psychological Society’s flagship journal The Psychologist contains a fascinating article by Herbert A. Friedman on the use of sex in wartime propaganda during World War II. Often the strategy was to drop leaflets from the sky that contained pictures of nude women and/or that accused other men (allied soldiers or those who had evaded military service) of having their way with the soldiers’ girlfriends and wives “back home” while they were on the front fighting. Friedman argues that the strategy usually failed, the leaflets becoming favored keepsakes of the soldiers rather than lowering morale, as intended.

The full article can be found here on the new all-on-line edition of The Psychologist. (Congrats to BPS on this new venture!) Just “flip” to page 84 to find it.

Back in May, AHP posted an item about the website on which this article is based here.