The First Wave: Gender Integration and Military Culture

A number of sexual harassment scandals in the United States armed forces have come to public attention in recent years. Commentators on these scandals have suggested that the incidents are not anomalous, but reflect an institutional culture that generates hostility toward women. The military culture, it is supposed, fosters aggression that is turned against female service members. This article questions such views of the military. It examines the activity of war and its requisites and shows that the military does not foster individual aggression since this quality is, ironically, ineffectual for organized warfare. The examination of gender integration in the armed forces, which follows, brings the complex and multifaceted character of women's involvement in the military into view. Certain aspects of the military culture, the article shows, are congenial to servicewomen and facilitate their often-overlooked successes in this institution.