Leadership by Design: The Gendered Construction of Military (Air Force) Officers
Abstract
Grounding this study is the idea that the military constructs particular "norms" for its successful leaders and that these norms are officially and unofficially endorsed throughout a military officer's career. Specifically, the Air Force discursively constructs its ideal service member as a white, athletic, heterosexual, Christian male. Military texts that emphasize this norm (particularly the heterosexual and Christian aspects) conflate notions of national protection with levels of masculine prowess. Therefore, by gendered default, such discursive representations diminish women or entirely exclude them from the ultimate leadership scenario war. Narratives from the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, are the main evidence for this claim. As an institution invested in the fashioning of officers and their careers, USAFA's narratives play a crucial role in understanding how the military constructs gender. Taken alone, these narratives speak primarily to a military culture; yet, when they are considered along with representations of military women in relatively contemporary films, the military's gendered constructions also reach a non-military audience. Beyond USAFA and film contexts this study turns to military figures whose auto/biographies peak national interest because they either blatantly support the acceptable norms or flagrantly disrupt them. This study, then, is a cultural reading of a variety of military narratives and how these narratives position women for leadership roles. How well military women navigate and negotiate the inherent tensions in attaining such positions will mean little until the military discursively shapes more than only one image.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 17, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA371182
Entities
People
- Kathleen Harrington
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology