Weapons of the Weak Soldiers: Military Masculinity and Embodied Resistance in Taiwanese Conscription

• In Event: 031 - Section on Asia and Asian America Paper Session. Social Change and Resistance in Asia and Asian America

Abstract

Many studies show that patriarchy and misogyny are consolidated and homophobia and compulsory heterosexuality proliferated in military institutions. However, few address how male soldiers use gender and sexuality to resist the military bureaucracy and its hegemonic masculinity. This research first reviews the embodied history by which Taiwanese men’s bodies were recruited as military resources in the framework of regional and international politics. To examine some contemporary effects of military masculinity, I then analyze data collected from my fieldwork among Taiwanese troops and in-depth interviews with 35 young Taiwanese conscripts who served between 2000 and 2006. I found that Taiwanese conscripts were weak actors within the military rank system and under the pressure of an ideal warrior myth. To resist their embodied exploitation, Taiwanese conscripts 1) maneuvered their distance to the oppression sources, and 2) appropriated practical and symbolic strategies to hinder the operation of the military and to queer the Taiwanese military’s sacred symbol system. I classified these embodied resistances into four kinds of ‘weapons of the weak soldiers:’ fracture, implosion, blasé, and blasphemy. This research formulates a framework of resistance against hegemonic masculinity and military governance, bridges sexuality and masculinity, and provides Taiwanese conscripts’ experiences to further our understanding of East Asian masculinities.

Author

• Ying-Chao Kao, Rutgers University