Veterans in Society 2014: Humanizing the Discourse, Center for the Study of Rhetoric in Society

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https://hdl.handle.net/10919/54941

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Browsing Veterans in Society 2014: Humanizing the Discourse, Center for the Study of Rhetoric in Society by Subject "Female veterans"

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    Resisting & Re-inscribing Gender Norms: See Me/ Hear Me
    Broyles, Kathryn A. (2014-04)
    Women veterans not infrequently report the forced iconic characterizations of “bitch,” “whore,” or “dike” forced upon them by their fellow service-members, superiors, and the larger culture both during and after their military service. As a result, they experience a kind of cognitive dissonance. This presentation challenges the connections made between identity, gender norms, and the wedding of nationalism and masculinity when they serve to reject servicewomen by challenging their identities as in/sufficiently feminine/female, or when they inscribe upon the female soldier a pseudo- masculinity, concurrently denying her masculine privilege. This presentation seeks to engage conversation around ways to normalize images of the female solider, recognize the value of the stories of all veterans, and explore – without essentializing –the tension necessary between gender and identity.
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    Standing Up To Be Counted: Female Military Personnel and Online Mentoring
    Hart, D. Alexis (2014-04)
    Women working in male-dominated fields such as science and the military often encounter challenges fitting into their workplace communities, feeling themselves to be cast as less intelligent and less powerful (physically and with regard to leadership). The problems connected to gendered stereotypes do not end once female military personnel leave the military service. As a result, female veterans often downplay their skills and accomplishments and do not identify themselves with the veteran moniker. Several online communities for military women have emerged that strategically use Web 2.0 technologies to enable female military personnel to mentor each other in relatively safe electronic spaces to support the professional and personal growth of participants and to articulate personally and publicly the reasons why women, too, “count” as veterans.