Boys to Men: Age, Identity, and the Legitimation of Amateur Wireless in the United States, 1909–1927

Abstract

Although amateur radio remained popular for 100 years, it faced a crisis of legitimacy during the 1910s. The damaging behaviors of some operators threatened amateurs with banishment from the airwaves. Through an analysis of archival material from various sources, this paper demonstrates that in order to distance themselves from the actions of malevolent pranksters, responsible wireless operators tapped into contemporary cultural debates about maturity and the emergence of adolescence. As a result, amateur operators legitimated themselves in the eyes of the public while carving out a distinct space for youth hobbyists.

Notes

Thanks to Fauzia Ahmed, Jennifer Bulanda, Ronald Bulanda, Lee Harrington, Glenn Muschert, Anthony Peguero, and three anonymous JBEM reviewers for comments on an earlier draft. Support for this project was provided by the American Sociological Association Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2008 meeting of the Southern Sociological Society.

¹Links to several of these articles are provided on Thomas H. White's outstanding Web site devoted to early radio history: www.earlyradiohistory.us