Throughout my investigation into ancient Egyptian views on nuclear weapons, I kept coming across the egg symbol. In Egyptian publications and popular science journals in the months and weeks following August 1945, the atomic bomb, and atomic technology more generally, was often envisioned and illustrated as an egg. This recurrent image was used by journalists, cartoonists, and even some scientists to tell the story of the beginning of the atomic age. Some writers falsely claimed that the atomic bomb was the size of an egg. Some have provided more scientific reasons for the image, but the idea that atoms are little is probably what led to the portrayal of the atomic bomb as tiny. Though it is still mentioned in some jokes, this visualization has mainly disappeared in modern times.
One might compare the egg image to other implausibly small representations, like Albert Camus's claim that the bomb is the size of a football. It is noteworthy, nonetheless, that early Egyptian narratives of nuclearization hardly include the mushroom cloud, widely accepted as the undisputed symbol of the nuclear age. We can gain a deeper understanding of the agency of players who are commonly perceived as existing outside the purview of nuclear politics by looking beyond this famous image, which represents the particular perspective of the US. In a recent piece that was featured in a special edition of International Affairs that addressed Feminist Interrogations of Global Nuclear Politics, I go into the significance of the egg image as well as a few other metaphors and imagery that.
First of all, the egg is connected to femininity and fertility. Therefore, the long-standing correlation between nuclear weapons and masculinity is called into question by the use of the egg to symbolize the nuclear age. From the 1987 publication of Carol Cohn's article "Sex and Death," which is based on an analysis of US military strategists who employ phallic imagery to describe nuclear politics, the association between these two has been accepted as standard wisdom in feminist nuclear literature. However, it's possible that only states with nuclear weapons have this connection. My study of Egyptian nuclear fantasies serves as a reminder that nuclear technology does not always need to be associated with masculine symbols in order to be deemed attractive.
Like everywhere else, Egyptian nationalist modernizers were ecstatic about the atomic era. They emphasized the potential of nuclear energy and nuclear technology for postcolonial nation-building by using the egg as a symbol. The egg was utilized as a symbol to emphasize the contribution that atomic technology made to the development of the contemporary nation. The possible uses of atomic physics in the fields of energy, medicine, architecture, urban planning, and fertility were discussed.
Unlike the football image, the metaphor of the egg suggests life inside. The contrast between nuclear weapons and nuclear energy, which takes lives, was welcomed by intellectuals. They were obviously enthusiastic about nuclear technology, but they were also naturally linked to colonial aggression and nuclear weapons.
The bomb was shown as a monster, the devil, or a rocket in descriptions of international nuclear politics—scandalous pictures that emphasize the threat nuclear weapons posed to the decolonizing world. These portrayals of global powers turned the condescending narrative about colonies being ill-prepared for self-rule on its head by portraying them as illogical, immature, and reckless.
The deadly nature of the device was connected to fears about women at the same time. The "woman of the future," who was depicted as petite, sleek, and attractive but also dangerous, was compared to the atomic bomb. In fact, the atomic bomb had permeated Egyptian popular culture and daily life by the early 1950s. The sensationalism surrounding the atomic bomb and the general public's interest in the topic were exploited in the 1951 movie "My Mother-in-Law is an Atom Bomb." The movie does not deal with nuclear war, and the phrase "atomic bomb" is only used once, symbolizing annihilation, throughout the whole narrative. The movie centers on a man and his mother-in-law's power struggle. It portrays her want to be "the man of the house" in an emasculating and menacing way.
These early photos provide us with a more complex understanding of the long-overlooked nuclear histories of the Global South. In addition to contributing to the creation of the nuclear condition, people in the Global South have also challenged and reshaped its parameters. They have attempted to envision alternatives to the current nuclear system by establishing connections between gender, race, and the nuclear order. This is important for us to keep in mind as we reflect on the legacy of nuclear testing, the long-term effects of the bombing of Japan, and the ongoing disagreements about the Non-Proliferation Treaty in front of the 10th review conference.
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