Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Book Review: Managing Sex In The U.S. Military: Gender, Identity, And Behavior, Mary Raum

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Editors: Beth Bailey, Alesha E. Doan, Shannon Portillo, and Karen Dixon Vuic

Reviewed by Dr. Mary Raum, professor of national security affairs, US Naval War College

This compilation of scholarly, practical, and historical writings presents a running record of events gleaned from research on government policies from the eras of World War II, the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the War in Afghanistan. It provides greater insight into the complexities of gender issues with direct ties to defense systems. While service examples and dialogues are primarily aimed at the Army, the Navy and Marine Corps are also included. Historical …

Fantasized Masculinity Performed In American War Narratives, Shea O'Scannlain

English Honors Theses

In this thesis I wanted to explore the ways that masculinity has been written in history through the genre of fiction. The first chapter discusses traumatized white masculinity in Kurt Vonnegut's novel SlaughterHouse Five and Oliver Stone's film Born On The Fourth of July. The second chapter deals with the female Black experience in response to the white patriarchy in Toni Morrison's novel Home and HBO's television series LoveCraft Country. And finally chapter 3 deals with mythologized masculinity redeemed through violence in Martin Scorsese's film Taxi Driver and Frank Miller's comic book series The Dark Knight Returns. …

Organizational Conflict And Perceptions Of Gender Equality In The United States Military, April Coan

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Despite historical advancements toward gender equal policies, perceptions and attitudes regarding gender have the ability to impact the recruitment, retention, and promotion of gender minorities in the United States military. This quantitative study analyzed survey results from 493 military veterans regarding the perceptions and attitudes of gender equal statements, and sought to answer three research questions: 1) What factors predict perceptions and attitudes of gender equality in the United States military? 2) Do perceptions and attitudes of gender equality differ between different military branches? 3) Do demographic factors impact perceptions and attitudes of gender equality in the military? Chapter one …

Research Brief: "Just A Girl In The Army: U.S. Iraq War Veterans Negotiating Femininity In A Culture Of Masculinity", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief summarizes an analysis on the experiences of 12 U.S. Army women combat veterans to determine the role of gender within the masculine culture of the military and how it effects their experiences.

Gender Awareness Training: A Comparison Of U.S. Military Units To Nato/Pfp Military Units, Elizabeth Owens Lape

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 (UN, 2000), initially adopted on 31 October 2000 and updated with a resolution in 2009 (UN, 2009), proclaimed all peacekeeping personnel – military, police and civilian, will receive training on the protection of women. The purpose of this research was to review and compare how the U.S. military and forces of NATO/Partnership for Peace countries educate and train their military on the overall use of gender as a planning factor in support of this resolution. The researcher conducted a phenomenological qualitative study that consisted of interviewing 12 personnel regarding their country’s National Action …

Research Brief: "Changes In Overall And Firearm Veteran Suicide Rates By Gender, 2001-2010", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about suicide rates and trends among female and male veterans. In policy and practice, veterans who have thoughts about suicide should contact services such as suicide hotlines, medical providers should assess veterans for suicidal risk, and the VHA should continue its impactful suicide prevention program. Suggestions for future research include studies to understand the trend of firearm suicides among female veterans and a study to provide more generalizable results.

Racism Vs. Social Capital: A Case Study Of Two Majority Black Communities, Bruce W. Strouble

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Several researchers have identified social capital as a means to improve the social sustainability of communities. While there have been many studies investigating the benefits of social capital in homogeneous White communities, few have examined it in Black homogeneous communities. Also, there has been limited research on the influence of racism on social capital in African American communities. In this dissertation a comparative case study was used within a critical race theory framework. The purpose was to explore the role of racial oppression in shaping social capital in majority African American communities. Data were collected from 2 majority Black communities …

Gender, War, And Politics, Madeline Robinson

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This research explores the gender gap amongst female and male voters and its correlation with the Democratic Party’s platform on foreign policy. The political orientation of women during the 1980’s reversed and shifted towards the left, and this research will investigate if this was caused by female voters’ opinions of the parties on their foreign policy platforms. The theory of conflict avoidance states females are more likely than males to avoid conflict, and this theory can be used to determine whether females feel more represented by the Democratic Party compared to the Republican Party. The foreign policy platform of the …

Research Brief: "Preferences For Gender-Targeted Health Information: A Study Of Male Veterans Who Have Experienced Military Sexual Trauma", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about male veterans' preferences for health information provided to them after experiencing military sexual trauma and the effect of that information on use of mental health services. In policy and practice, veterans who have experienced military sexual trauma should seek military sexual trauma care from the VA, health practitioners should learn more about military sexual assault to better help servicemembers, and gender-targeted literature should be distributed to servicemembers who have experienced military sexual trauma; the VHA should include gender-specific resources for male veterans who experienced military sexual trauma. Suggestions for future research include the addition of a …

Predictors Of Perceived Belonging Among U.S. Military Men And Women, Heidi M. Pfeiffer

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to identify predictors of perceived belonging within the military unit, a factor which has been shown to promote effectiveness, satisfaction, and mental health. Online survey responses from service members, veterans, and trainees were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. It was found that perceptions of positive military leadership, larger unit size, older age, and active duty (rather than reserve/guard) service were associated with higher perceived belonging, together explaining a significant portion of variance in scores. Male gender was also found to be associated with higher perceived belonging, but the increase in variance explained by the addition of this …

The Emotionally Supportive Sister-Soldier: How The United States Military Values Normative Femininity And Devalues Nonconformist Servicewomen, Kristal Marie Gray

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Women need to be vigilant about the rights and strides they have gained to be sure they are not circling back to feed an oppressive system. Women may be serving in the military but they are filling specific roles as the feminine presence within the ranks. Women are gendered and sexualized from the day they swear in. My research gives valuable insight into the world of the military and how much emphasis is placed on conforming. I explain how servicewomen are expected to act and then interview eleven servicewomen to see if they are behaving according to the military (and …

Managing The Polarities Of Democracy: A Theoretical Framework For Positive Social Change, William J. Benet

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

People around the globe have embraced democracy to bring about positive social change to address our environmental, economic, and militaristic challenges. Yet, there is no agreement on a definition of democracy that can guide social change efforts. The Polarities of Democracy model is a unifying theory of democracy to guide healthy, sustainable, and just social change efforts. The Polarities of Democracy model consists of ten elements, organized as five polarity pairs: freedom & authority, justice & due process, diversity & equality, human-rights & communal-obligations, and participation & representation. In this model each element has positive aspects and negative aspects and …

Research Brief: "A New Generation Of Women Veterans: Stressors Faced By Women Deployed To Iraq And Afghanistan", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study analyzes the effect of experiencing combat on the physical and mental health of female veterans as compared to male veterans. For policy and practice, the research shows that female veterans who experienced combat might not reach out for health services, and therefore those barriers should be identified and addressed. Suggestions for future research include conducting studies with larger sample sizes and representative samples, as well as addressing the interpersonal stress female veterans experience.

Manning Up: A Look At Women In The Military And Their Sense Of Self, Kari Elizabeth Davis

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to uncover identity shaping in women of the military. I interviewed eleven women from various branches of the military to uncover changes in their sense of self, emotion management, and role person merge. Six of these my respondents were deployed to combat zones. The women of this study went to basic training and learned how to be a soldier. They go through a process of "manning up" where they leave behind prior behaviors and beliefs and display a masculine front in order to be successful in their military careers. They also demonstrate a role …

Emotion Work On The Home-Front: The Special Case Of Military Wives, Kimberly Michelle Murray

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research includes interviews with twelve military wives to examine emotion-work techniques used to negotiate the everyday life of wives during their husbands' deployment. In this study, I seek to better understand the ways in which military wives negotiate their feelings within a context of military masculinity and how they manage role strain, feelings of loneliness, isolation, and marginalization. In addition, I examine the cultural constructs available to wives, such as traditional gender roles and subordination. Interviews confirm the complexity of the life of the military wife, revealing challenges of contradictory emotions in relationship to the military, her husband, her …