Women in Combat: A Critical Analysis of Responses to the U.S. Military's Recent Inclusion Efforts

In this thesis, I analyze responses to the 1994 Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule (DGCDAR), the policy that until January 24, 2013 formally barred women from serving in combat. Specifically, I use feminist theories of embodiment, equality, and difference to interpret how interlocutors represent female service members in the "Letters" section of the Marine Corps Gazette and interviews I collected from members of the military community. I find that the most common arguments against women in combat locate gender difference in the physically sexed body, centering primarily on female nature, sexuality, and strength. Throughout this project, I demonstrate how these arguments are persuasive because the discourse understands equality as sameness to a male norm. This equality as sameness paradigm perpetuates gender-based barriers to parity by expecting women to function just like men. Ultimately, I argue for a more inclusive conception of equality that acknowledges difference.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Department dc:contributor.department

English

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Hughes, Ashley Taylor

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Hausman, Bernice L.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Heilker, Paul V.
• Mazzolini, Elizabeth A.

• Military
• Combat
• Feminist Theory
• Critical Theory
• Rhetoric

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:5318

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/73487