Femininity is portrayed as fragile, weak and ignorant at times which within the setting of war, these characteristics are not ideal. The authors claim on how femininity had a negative impact on women led me to think about this specific view on femininity. I see the military as something only the strong and brave can do because that is how it is portrayed on media. Thus, “notions about the proper practice of femininity have a profound impact on how women are regarded in relation to war, what they are expected to do, and the strength of the repercussions suffered for acting outside the accepted boundaries of femininity” (Riley, R., Mohanty, C., P, M., pg. 6). Women are expected to act strong because the military encourages it, but society does not approve of this behavior on women.
Moreover, the authors also state how femininity affects the way women differ from other women because of war (Riley, R., Mohanty, C., P, M., pg. 8). This led me to think about the ways femininity within the US is socially constructed versus other countries. During war, women in the US are viewed as brave for joining the military forces which is a male role. The women in the opposing side during war are not noticed for their work. This again illustrates the authors’ claim about how femininity negatively impacts women during war since there is this division between women in the US and other women around the world.
For example, the popular, “we can do it,” propaganda poster for women in the US during war is illustrating a white women. This poster is only appealing to the white women which makes them look brave and hardworking. However, there is no representation of black women in these posters and they are also working in the military. This shows how only white women can do a male task and still be feminine because they can look beautiful while serving the military for their husbands.
I really liked your point about white women being able to be feminine while serving in war and how other women of color aren't given that privilege. It's also kind of interesting that women are not thought of as strong so they're excluded from wars, yet when they are included, there tends to be a masculinization of them. Considering all of this, I also wonder if women being in war can even be considered feminist. The very practice of war and the military as an institution perpetuates violence and anti-feminist policies so perhaps we shouldn't aim to normalize war or encourage people to join to be feminist.
ReplyDeleteI think Stephanie made an interesting point about war and the military even being a feminist practice.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, war and military can never be part of feminist practice, unless it was colonial (aka white) feminism. If we are taking an intersectional, women of color feminist approach to the topic of wars and military, obviously, they will say it is not a feminist practice.
As Stephanie said, we should not normalize or encourage war practices of any sort, but we tend to see this a lot with colonial (white) feminism.