Military Masculinity

Public Policy and Legal Debates

The use of misogynistic or homophobic epithets, jokes, and chants is a feature of most military environments. Although a punishable offense in the U.S. military, the practice nonetheless is widespread in the ranks, though perhaps less openly so than before a crackdown in the 1990s. Misogyny and homophobia are staples of the (heterosexual) male bonding, thought by many (especially within the military) to be essential to combat effectiveness. It is in this environment that issues of the basic human rights of women and sexual minorities have come to the forefront.

Sexual Minorities in the Military

Since 1994, the United States has permitted homosexuals to serve on condition of silence, the “Don't [Page 573]Ask, Don't Tell” policy. This compromise measure replaced a policy that had classified homosexuality as a disease and required the discharge of “incurable” soldiers from the military. This latter policy begun in the 1940s was itself a moderation of a policy that had treated homosexuality as a criminal act. Discrimination against homosexuals has thus always been institutional in the U.S. military: Homosexuality in the U.S. military has been criminalized, subsequently pathologized, and finally tolerated, but only under certain conditions. The policy of the U.S. military is, however, relatively gay-friendly when compared against policies of other militaries of the world. It is true that of all the NATO countries, only the United States and Turkey still openly discriminate against homosexuals who wish to serve in the military. Yet it must be remembered that on a global scale, NATO countries are on the whole the least discriminatory in this area. It is an indisputable fact that most militaries of the world discriminate openly and energetically against homosexuals.

The cultivation of military masculinity may be related to this widespread open (and often official) hostility toward gays in military institutions throughout the world. In many societies, the biological male becomes recognized as a man after military service. “Manhood” can thus be thought of as a reward for military service. Gatekeepers to this identity, such as drill sergeants and other small-group leaders, often disparage alternatives to military manhood. Recruits who show sensitivity, cowardice, or even general incompetence may be punished with a homosexual epithet. The homosexual man in particular serves as a defining other for young men acquiring soldierly identity. So deeply rooted are these traditions that rank-and-file aversion to homosexuality generally survives the implementation of gay-friendly official policy.

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