Social Positioning and Policy Change in US Special Forces: Should Females Serve?

• In Event: Affective and Representational Narratives of Militarism

Abstract

As the military continues to integrate women into combat units, U.S. Special Operations Command must decide whether to allow females into Army Special Forces. Based off focus groups surveys of active duty Special Forces males and Special Operations females, we argue that male resistance to female integration is based on presumptive beliefs that females will be unable to engage with males in traditionally patriarchal societies. Female soldiers’ experiences while deployed in traditionally patriarchal societies refute these assumptions. We use a translocational positionality framework to explore these competing narratives and discuss the implications for female integration within Special Forces.

Presenters

• Shannon Portillo, University of Kansas, School of Public Affairs & Administration

• Alesha Doan, University of Kansas