Manly Displays: Exhibitions and the Revival of the Olympic Games

This article explores the shift from international exhibitions to the Modern Olympic Games as the preferred site for the public performance of manly character. As fin-de-siecle European and American societies increasingly grew concerned about the waning vitality of men and the individual's marginalization in a mechanized world, they sought out a new form of mass spectacle. National tensions grew that would eventually lead to WWI, and citizenry previously enraptured by the displays of state-directed competition at the international exhibitions were attracted to a venue in which the performance and effort of the individual was the central focus. The Games, particularly in the emergence of the marathon as the showcase event, became the preferred location for the performance of active masculinity that did not involve aggression but, instead, individual excellence achieved through discipline and the adherence to rules