Making military and Veteran women (in)visible: The continuity of gendered experiences in military-to-civilian transition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya Eichler
Keyword(s):  
Military Service ◽  
Women Veterans ◽  
Military Women ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Civilian Life ◽  
Gender Biases ◽  
Care And Support ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Military

LAY SUMMARY This study explores how gender and sex shape the military-to-civilian transition (MCT) for women. Thirty-three Canadian women Veterans were interviewed about their military service and post-military life. MCT research often emphasizes discontinuities between military and civilian life, but women’s accounts highlight continuities in gendered experiences. Military women are expected to fit the male norm and masculine ideal of the military member during service, but they are rarely recognized as Veterans after service. Women experience invisibility as military member and Veterans and simultaneously hypervisibility as (ex)military women who do not fit military or civilian gender norms. Gendered expectations of women as spouses and mothers exert an undue burden on them as serving members and as Veterans undergoing MCT. Women encounter care and support systems set up on the normative assumption of the military and Veteran man supported by a female spouse. The study findings point to a needed re-design of military and Veteran systems to remove sex and gender biases and better respond to the sex- and gender-specific MCT needs of women.

Predictors of not working among treatment-seeking UK veterans: a cross-sectional study

2020 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001412
Author(s):  
Laura Josephine Hendrikx ◽  
J Ross ◽  
C Armour ◽  
D Murphy
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Treatment Seeking ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Civilian Life ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
The Military

IntroductionMany veterans do well reintegrating to civilian life following military service. Yet, many face difficulties in finding and securing work. Veterans are more likely than civilians to experience work difficulties, but there remains little research investigating contributing factors, particularly among samples of treatment-seeking veterans. As such, the study examines predictors of not working among UK treatment-seeking veterans.DesignThe study employed a cross-sectional design.MethodsOf 667 treatment-seeking UK veterans, 403 (Mage=50.94) provided information on a range of demographic variables, military-related experiences, the total number of physical health conditions and mental health outcomes. Work status was categorised as not working due to illness (Mage=48.15), not working due to other reasons (Mage=61.92) and currently working (Mage= 46.13).ResultsPrevalence rates of not working was 69%. Not working was predicted by a greater number of physical health problems as well as more years since leaving the military. Not working due to poor health was independently predicted by symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and younger age, while not working due to other reasons was predicted by older age.ConclusionsThe study revealed that treatment-seeking veterans of younger age with a high number of physical health difficulties, symptoms of PTSD and more years since leaving the military are most at risk of not working due to ill health. The findings have important implications for identifying veterans most at risk of not working and offer the opportunity to tailor rehabilitation programmes to promote successful veteran reintegration into civilian life.

Unique Considerations for Homeless Female Veterans

2018 ◽  
pp. 163-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Elizabeth Montgomery ◽  
Thomas H. Byrne ◽  
Melissa E. Dichter
Keyword(s):  
Military Service ◽  
Women Veterans ◽  
Housing Instability ◽  
Female Veterans ◽  
Younger Women ◽  
The Military

As the number of women Veterans continues to increase, so does the number of women Veterans experiencing housing instability. Homelessness or risk for homelessness among women Veterans may be directly linked to their experiences before, during, and after their military service, particularly the experience of trauma. To address homelessness among women Veterans, providers and researchers must acknowledge the gendered nature of both the military and Veteran-specific resources. Responses should include providing housing-related interventions specifically for women, assessing and addressing trauma among women Veterans, responding to the needs of younger women Veterans who may be homeless with children, and supporting women Veterans during their reintegration after discharge from the military.

The Churches, the State and Modern War

Worldview ◽  
1968 ◽  
Vol 11 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 3-4
Author(s):  
J. F.
Keyword(s):  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
World Council Of Churches ◽  
Care And Support ◽  
World Council ◽  
Modern Warfare ◽  
The Military ◽  
Modern War

At its meeting in Uppsala, Sweden this summer, the World Council of Churches endorsed a principle that invites prolonged national discussion. With only a few negative votes, the 720 delegates adopted a resolution that endorses selective conscientious objection. The pertinent section from the 4,000 word statement entitled “Towards Justice and Peace in International Affairs” reads as follows:“Protection of conscience demands that the churches should give spiritual care and support not only to those serving in armed forces but also to those who, especially in the light of the nature of modern warfare, object to participation in particular wars they feel bound in conscience to oppose, or who find themselves unable to bear arms or to enter the military service of their nations for reasons of conscience. Such support should include pressure to have the law changed where required.”

Creating a “Home Away from Home”: Korean Women’s Performances of the Imaginary American Home at US Military Clubs in South Korea, 1955–64

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-236
Author(s):  
Yu Jung Lee
Keyword(s):  
United States Army ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Us Military ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Military ◽  
Occupied Zone

Abstract This article considers the proliferation of Korean native camp shows and the roles of Korean women entertainers at the military service clubs of the Eighth United States Army in Korea in the 1950s and the 1960s. The role of the “American sweethearts” in USO camp shows—to create a “home away from home” and boost the morale of the American troops during wartime—was carried out by female Korean entertainers in the occupied zone at a critical moment in US-ROK relations during the Cold War. The article argues that Korean entertainers at military clubs were meant to perform the entertainment of “home” and evoke nostalgia for American soldiers by imitating well-known American singers and songs. However, what they performed as America was not simply the reproduction of American entertainment but often a manifestation of their imagination; they were constructing their own version of the American home. Their hybrid styles of American performance were indicative of how the discourse of the American home itself was constructed around ambivalence, the very site where women entertainers were enabled to exceed the rigid boundaries of race and gender, transcend their roles as imitators, and exercise their agency by productively negotiating this ambivalence.

Military Service and Lifetime Arrests: Examining the Effects of the Total Military Experience on Arrests in a Sample of Prison Inmates

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika J. Brooke ◽  
Jacinta M. Gau
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Prison Inmates ◽  
Civilian Life ◽  
Military Experience ◽  
Entry Length ◽  
Life Trajectories ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact

Service in the military is an important event that may shape veterans’ life trajectories. Research has shown that military service is associated with increased risk of alcohol and substance abuse, mental illness, and antisocial behaviors, yet it remains unclear whether service places veterans at elevated risk of criminal justice involvement. In addition, most prior research treats military service as a dichotomous variable and does not consider the specific components of the military experience that might affect the impact that service has upon veterans. In the present study, a large sample of state prison inmates is utilized to test for the potential impact of military service, by itself, as well as age of entry, length of service, combat exposure, discharge type, and branch status on lifetime arrests. Results have implications for both military and criminal justice policies in ensuring that veterans have the assistance they need as they re-enter civilian life.

scholarly journals Influence of military identity on social adaptation of Ukrainian veterans

2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 54-75
Author(s):  
Е. V. Bataeva ◽  
◽  
A. B. Artemenko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Military Service ◽  
Social Identification ◽  
Social Adaptation ◽  
Civilian Life ◽  
Combat Experience ◽  
Social Adaptability ◽  
Medium Level ◽  
Positive Assessment ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Military

The article examines the influence of different forms of the military identity of veterans on the degree of their social adaptation. We define “military identity” as a result of the social identity of a service(wo)man with the military due to the internalization of values and norms adopted in the military sphere. A “veteran” is a service(wo)man who served in the army, participated in combat operations, and was demobilized in connection with the end of the term of service or for health reasons, regardless of the types of military forces and military service. We have used a sociological method of measuring the stable, situational, and unformed types of veterans’ military identity based on the following criteria: social identification, the strength of connection with the army, biographical importance of military service, perception of the army as a family, recognition of the individual in the army, existential assessment of military service, the importance of military practices after demobilization, social contacts with former service(wo)men, the positive assessment of the military culture of obedience/discipline. We have studied the influence of the following factors – duration of staying in the combat zone, conscription age, motivation to join the army, marital status, and traumatic combat experience – on the formation of military identity. According to the quota sample, the results of the study “Military identity and social adaptation of Ukrainian veterans” are presented; 400 veterans (n = 400) were interviewed according to the quota sample. We found out that veterans with a stable military identity mainly had a low level of social adaptability to the civilian life; veterans with a situational form of military identity mostly had a medium level of social adaptability; veterans with an unformed type of military identity were the most adapted to the civilian life.

scholarly journals Igualdade de oportunidades nas Forças Armadas. O papel das políticas de integraçâo de género

2011 ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Helena Carreiras
Keyword(s):  
Armed Forces ◽  
Equality Of Opportunity ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Military Women ◽  
Gender Integration ◽  
Organizational Policies ◽  
Determining Factors ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact

<p>Neste artigo discute-se o impacto de políticas organizacionais sobre a construção de igualdade de oportunidades e integração de género nas Forças Armadas. Após uma apresentação de dados empíricos que permitem a caracterização global dos factores condicionantes e da situação das mulheres militares nas democracias ocidentais, analisa-se o papel das políticas organizacionais na promoção da igualdade de oportunidades e integração de género nas Forças Armadas. Conclui-se que nem sempre políticas destinadas a promover a igualdade formal terão idênticos efeitos em termos de integração social, e que as políticas parecem ser condição necessária, mas não suficiente para assegurar maiores níveis de equidade entre sexos no universo militar.</p><p>In this article, the impact of the organizational policies on the construction of the equality of opportunity and integration of the gender in the Armed Forces is discussed. After a presentation of the empirical data that allow the global characterization of the determining factors and the situation of the military women in Western democracies, the paper of the organizational policies in the promotion of the equality of opportunity and gender integration in the Armed Forces is analyzed. The conclusion is that not always the policies destined to promote the formal equality will have identical effects in terms of social integration, and that the policies seem to be a necessary condition, but not enough to assure greater levels of equality between sexes in the military universe.<br /> </p>

Mind the gap: Sex, gender, and intersectionality in military-to-civilian transitions

2021 ◽  
pp. e20210018
Author(s):  
Maya Eichler ◽  
Kimberley Smith-Evans ◽  
Leigh Spanner ◽  
Linna Tam-Seto
Keyword(s):  
Military Service ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Transition Outcomes ◽  
Military Service Members ◽  
Military Members ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Canadian Research ◽  
Insight Into

LAY SUMMARY The authors conducted a review of existing research on sex, gender, and intersectionality in relation to military-to-civilian transition (MCT). Extensive international studies and government resources, mostly from the United States, provide insight into the potential vulnerabilities and challenges encountered by historically under-represented military members and Veterans during MCT (i.e., by women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other sexual or gender minority, Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour military service members and Veterans). The reviewed sources also highlight government initiatives and tailored programs that exist internationally to address diverse Veteran needs. Canadian research and government initiatives on the topic are limited, and this gap needs to be kept in mind. To support equitable transition outcomes for all Veterans, research as well as policies, programs, and supports need to pay attention to sex and gender as well as intersecting factors such as sexuality, race, Indigeneity, and more.

“Conduct of a Nature to Bring Discredit upon the Military Service”

2019 ◽  
pp. 21-55
Author(s):  
Andrew Byers
Keyword(s):  
Military Service ◽  
Venereal Disease ◽  
Legal Cases ◽  
Military Justice ◽  
Enlisted Men ◽  
The Family ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Civilian Women ◽  
The Military ◽  
Insight Into

This chapter examines Fort Riley, Kansas, from 1898-1940. The chapter provides an overview of the military justice system and looks at specific legal cases to explore how the U.S. Army thought about issues related to sexuality: family life and marriage, sexual propriety, venereal disease, homosexuality, and sexual violence. Examining how the army treated what it considered criminal violations of a sexual nature in its court-martial process provides insight into what behaviors the army considered transgressive, how it publicly discussed such transgressions, and how it dealt with offenders. The chapter also reveals how entangled the army’s notions of marriage, the family, and sexual propriety were with social class and gender relations in how it policed contact between enlisted men and civilian women of various social classes.

Equity in military and Veteran research: Why it is essential to integrate an intersectional sex and gender lens

2021 ◽  
pp. e20210016
Author(s):  
Maya Eichler
Keyword(s):  
Health Research ◽  
Family Health ◽  
Veteran Health ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Gender Diverse ◽  
Military Members ◽  
Long Time ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Military ◽  
Gender Lens

Lay Summary For a long time, it has been assumed that to study military members and Veterans means to study men. Further com-pounding the problem, military and Veteran health research has historically neglected sex and gender issues. This has resulted in systemic biases and gaps in military and Veteran health research that perpetuate existing inequities. How-ever, as this Perspectives piece argues, equity should be a key objective of military and Veteran research. Equity means that the diverse needs of all in the military and Veteran population are considered and addressed. Equity helps ensure fairness and justice in the military and Veteran sector. One of the best ways to advance the goal of equity in research and beyond is to apply an intersectional sex and gender lens. This means, for example, to make visible women’s specific experiences and health outcomes, as well as those of sub-groups of women, men, or gender-diverse military members and Veterans. The author provides tools and considerations for the application of an intersectional sex and gender lens in military, Veteran, and family health research.

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