Thus came the second wave, when macaroni men were defined by their effeminacy.Īs The Macaroni and Theatrical Magazine noted, at this time the word macaroni “changed its meaning” from a sophisticated Brit to “a person who exceeded the ordinary bounds of fashion.” Seemingly overnight, the term “macaroni” became one of ridicule, and entire industries sprung up in order to deride these macaroni men. While their rather large wigs and slim clothes were seen as a bit feminine, they remained well within the bounds of acceptability, and actually became quite trendy.īut in the 1770s, as macaroni fashion spread beyond its aristocratic roots, these traces of femininity were amplified many times over.
The first wave-those aristocrats returning from the Grand Tour in the 1760s-made macaroni fashion emblematic of social status. It helps to think of the macaronis in waves.
(Photo: Wellcome Images, London/CC BY 4.0)īut what is fascinating about those fashionable British macaronis is how quickly they fell out of favor-and how, within a decade, a word that once denoted worldliness became synonymous with excess and male femininity. Two macaroni doctors, with their wigs and canes propped up behind them. In other words, he is out of touch with high society. The first verse is satirical because a doodle-a simpleton-thinks that he can be macaroni-fashionable-simply by sticking a feather in his cap. In “Yankee Doodle,” then, the British were mocking what they perceived as the Americans’ lack of class. To be “macaroni” was to be sophisticated, upper class, and worldly. In England at large, the word “macaroni” took on a larger significance. On returning from a Grand Tour (a then-standard trip across Continental Europe intended to deepen cultural knowledge), these young men brought to England a stylish sense of fashion consisting of large wigs and slim clothing as well as a penchant for the then-little-known Italian dish for which they were named. The “macaroni” in question does not, however, refer to the food, but rather to a fashion trend that began in the 1760s among aristocratic British men. To the average listener, the first verse appears to describe an American man who confuses a feather for a piece of pasta: Yankee Doodle went to town Anyone who is not given proper context-that “Yankee Doodle” was originally created by the British to ridicule Americans, and that American soldiers reclaimed it during the Revolutionary War-might well question the point of the song.īut perhaps the most confounding part of “Yankee Doodle” is its opening. Though the song, set to an upbeat melody, appears to satirize Americans, it is today treated as a patriotic anthem. Generations of American kids forced to sing “Yankee Doodle” have grown up justifiably puzzled by its lyrics. (Photo: Wellcome Images, London/CC BY 4.0)
An engraving of a “macaroni’s dressing room,” from 1772.
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