War and Gender: How Gender Shapes the War System and Vice Versa

by Joshua S. Goldstein

• ISBN13: 9780521807166
• ISBN10: 0521807166
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-10-01
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Gender roles are nowhere more prominent than in war. Yet contentious debates, and the scattering of scholarship across academic disciplines, have obscured understanding of how gender affects war and vice versa. In this authoritative and lively review of our state of knowledge, Joshua Goldstein assesses the possible explanations for the near-total exclusion of women from combat forces, through history and across cultures. Topics covered include the history of women who did fight and fought well, the complex role of testosterone in men's social behaviours, and the construction of masculinity and femininity in the shadow of war. Goldstein concludes that killing in war does not come naturally for either gender, and that gender norms often shape men, women, and children to the needs of the war system. lllustrated with photographs, drawings, and graphics, and drawing from scholarship spanning six academic disciplines, this book provides a unique study of a fascinating issue.

Table of Contents

List of figures	ix
List of tables	xii
Preface	xiii
A puzzle: the cross-cultural consistency of gender roles in war	1	(58)
Introduction	1	(9)
The universal gendering of war	10	(12)
The universal potential for war	22	(12)
Feminist theories of war and peace	34	(25)
Conclusion	57	(2)
Women warriors: the historical record of female combatants	59	(69)
Introduction	59	(1)
Female combat units	60	(17)
Mixed-gender units	77	(29)
Individual women fighters	106	(10)
Women military leaders	116	(12)
Conclusion	127	(1)
Bodies: the biology of individual gender	128	(55)
Introduction	128	(11)
Genetics	139	(4)
Testosterone levels	143	(16)
Size and strength	159	(10)
Brains and cognition	169	(10)
Female sex hormones	179	(4)
Conclusion	182	(1)
Groups: bonding, hierarchy, and social identity	183	(68)
Introduction	183	(11)
Male bonding	194	(9)
Ability to work in hierarchies	203	(14)
In-group/out-group psychology	217	(11)
Childhood gender segregation	228	(23)
Conclusion	249	(2)
Heroes: the making of militarized masculinity	251	(81)
Introduction	251	(1)
Test of manhood as a motivation to fight	252	(49)
Feminine reinforcement of soldiers' masculinity	301	(21)
Women's peace activism	322	(10)
Conclusion	331	(1)
Conquests: sex, rape, and exploitation in wartime	332	(71)
Introduction	332	(1)
Male sexuality as a cause of aggression	333	(23)
Feminization of enemies as symbolic domination	356	(24)
Dependence on exploiting women's labor	380	(23)
Conclusion	402	(1)
Reflections: the mutuality of gender and war	403	(12)
References	415	(66)
Index	481