Add Female Veterans and Stir? A Feminist Perspective on Gendering Veterans Research

Abstract

This article examines how scholarship on veterans has begun to incorporate gender as a relevant category of research. Drawing on feminist theory, it identifies different approaches to gender within the field of veterans studies and suggests avenues for advancing this aspect of research. The vast majority of gender research on veterans treats gender as a descriptive category or variable through a focus on female veterans or gender differences. This article argues that research on veterans can be enriched by employing gender as an analytical category. Focusing on gender norms, power and inequality based on gender, and the intersections of gender with other categories of social difference opens up new questions for gender research on veterans. This kind of broader, analytical conceptualization of gender reveals the ways in which gender shapes the transition to civilian life for all veterans and how veterans policies and programs impact gender relations.

Unblurring the Lines of Responsibility: The Puzzle of Veteran Service Provision and its Gendered Implications

“…6 Although the focus of this article is on women veterans, it is important to recognize there are implications of this gender-blind approach for male veterans. In particular, considerations around military masculinities (Bulmer & Eichler, 2017), the gendered dynamics of seeking mental health help, as well as the differing needs of men who do not conform to the traditional "soldier" mold, or beyond the "traditional" heterosexual military family, may also experience gaps in service due to this gender-blind approach (Eichler, 2012;Eichler, 2017).…”

“…In other words, the review collects sex-disaggregated data, but often does not analyze its significance for the deployment of veteran programs. Tracking the proportion of women veterans is important, but tells us little about the specific challenges they encounter on the road to civilian life as it overlooks gender norms and inequalities based on gender (Eichler, 2017). Alternative framings of gender for veteran studies, and the opportunity of "broader integration for gender considerations into veterans policies and programs," are core contributions from the Canadian literature to date (Eichler, 2017, p. 687).…”

Experiences of women veterans within the private sector: Examining the intersection of gender and veteran status

“…When veterans are faced with insignificant assignments, lesser responsibilities, inconsequential tasks, and low authority in civilian employment, they tend to be frustrated and even become detached or disengaged (Davis & Minnis, 2017;Minnis, 2014). Deliberate or unintentional negation of experience and gender slights by peers and supervisors constitute gendering practices that affect current and long-term career outcomes of women veterans more adversely than their male counterparts (Eichler, 2017). Engaging in gendering practices at the individual and organizational levels results in social closure and oppression (Martin, 2003), which manifest as denied access to power for women veterans and maintenance of male privilege and domination.…”

“…The majority of studies on female veterans in the United States are quantitative, use gender as a descriptive variable in studying their postmilitary outcomes, and do not examine their lived experiences postmilitary (DAV, 2014). Gender is rarely viewed as a critical factor that shapes veterans' experiences and most studies on veterans do not focus on the role of gender in veteran experiences (Eichler, 2017). Studies that pursue gender as an explanatory category and concentrate on the experiences of female veterans mostly focus on physical disabilities, mental health issues, stigma, stereotyping, or socioeconomic issues such as unemployment and homelessness of women veterans (Booth et al, 2012;Cobb et al, 2014;Mattocks et al, 2012).…”

Feminist Theory: A Research Agenda for HRD

“…That is, they argue that gender is primarily shaped by societal beliefs and cultural norms about biological categories. Taking a gender perspective involves focusing on how gender plays a role in distribution of power, status, resources, access, or opportunities (Eichler, 2017). Often in management and HRD literature, gender is not examined as an essential category of analysis, but as just another variable to report.…”