Hegemonic Masculinity and Militarised Femininity: Military, Women and Combat

Abstract

History is full of abundant instances of policies of male conscription. Masculine identity is appealed during wars or to demonstrate strength of armed forces, and militarised masculinity is constructed, relied upon and reproduced despite changes in the gender composition of armies. The concept of militarised masculinity, produced by both military institutions as well as state security discourse in relation to hierarchical opposition to women and feminine identities through perpetuating unequal gendered power relations, manifests both within and outside of the military. Feminist scholars find out that the gendered duality of masculine protectors and feminine protected serves to justify both the use of military force and unequal power relations. Feminists explore how masculinities and men become militarised and aim to redefine militarised masculinities within institutions and also demilitarise masculinities in societies at large. The paper sheds light on how tensions between equal opportunity and disparity continue to influence public discourse about women in the military even after all legal obstacles to their full integration have been removed. Female soldiers still tend to serve in noncombat capacities, are underrepresented in the combat arms, and struggle to uphold the standard of masculinised militarisation. By shedding light on how gender dynamics intersect military practices, the present paper significantly emphasises on how women military members come to practice gender and represent preferred forms of masculinities.