Camouflage Isn't Only for Combat: Gender, Sexuality, and Women in the Military [Paperback]

Melissa S. Herbert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0814735487 | ISBN-13: 978-0814735480

Drawing on surveys and interviews with almost 300 female military personnel, Melissa Herbert explores how women's everyday actions, such as choice of uniform, hobby, or social activity, involve the creation and re-creation of what it means to be a woman, and particularly a woman soldier. Do women feel pressured to be "more masculine," to convey that they are not a threat to men's jobs or status and to avoid being perceived as lesbians? She also examines the role of gender and sexuality in the maintenance of the male-defined military institution, proposing that, more than sexual harassment or individual discrimination, it is the military's masculine ideology--which views military service as the domain of men and as a mechanism for the achievement of manhood--which serves to limit women's participation in the military has increased dramatically. In the wake of armed conflict involving female military personnel and several sexual misconduct scandals, much attention has focused on what life is like for women in the armed services. Few, however, have examined how these women negotiate an environment that has been structured and defined as masculine.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Seen through Herbert's sharply focused analytical lens, the military is a socio-historical bastion of masculinity. Military service is a rite of passage into masculinity, a sort of 'finishing school' for men. In addition to questions of ability, women who join the service are suspected of gender transgressions. These management strategies reveal much about how the military controls gender and sexuality."

-Jodi O'Brien,,Seattle University

"Looks at how women in the armed forces deal with perceived conflicts between femininity and being a good soldier through active strategies that accentuate or play down perceptions of masculinity and femininity. . . . Goes a long way toward showing how this distorting pressure impedes the true integration of women and men."

-Choice,

"Working with interview data and with 285 surveys completed by veterans and active-duty personnel, Herbert shows how military women often adjust their language, dress, hairstyles, comportment, activities, and other characteristics in an effort to shape how they are perceived."

-The Chronicle of Higher Education,

"The book would serve as a valuable undergraduate text to introduce students to martial gender issues."

-Sexualities 4,

About the Author

MELISSA S. HERBERT is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Hamline University in Minnesota.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: NYU Press (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814735487
• ISBN-13: 978-0814735480
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #627,640 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A revelation!, May 20, 2001

By 

Calena (Bath, Maine United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Camouflage Isn't Only for Combat: Gender, Sexuality, and Women in the Military (Paperback)

I purchased this book a couple of years after leaving the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army. Being a female in the 82nd was one of the most difficult, yet rewarding experiences of my life; the comradery that many think are characteristic of the military just isn't there for female soldiers. This book helped me understand my own thoughts a lot better and put some personal conflicts in my love/hate relationship with the boy's club of the military to rest. Thanks for writing this book...It is so on the money!!!