User:Ramirezs11/sandbox

In 2001 Western forces became involved in military campaigns, due to unexpected intensity in Iraq and Afghanistan. Women participated in these campaigns and took on the roles in combat in both U.K and U.S armed forces. Women experienced the same risks as men, and were enemy fighters in most cases. They became most involved in the armed forces in 1970’s to 1990’s because more opportunities were presented. In both Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns, a new gender category emerged. Women were once defined as sluts or bitches in the military , but male soldiers had then adopted a new distinctive category for them. Female soldiers were accepted as “one of the boys” “one of the lads” ‘one of the guys” or “one of us”. Therefore women claimed that they were incorporated into the “masculine group” and on the same basis as their male counterparts. In addition and in terms of status, they became men.  Anthony King writes “Uniquely, selected women are no longer automatically defined as polluting, as a slut or bitch, but have been accorded the status of men. They have become honorary men.”  Women soldiers quickly went through the process by adopting masculine mannerisms while they served on operations. For instance one woman cut her hair short, because it defined her easier so her male colleagues and subordinates accepted her. King mentions “ Instructively, female soldiers have noted the connection between appearance and male recognition: ‘the more male a woman’s physical appearance (short hair, no makeup, unfeminine civilian clothing), the more her femininity is masked, the more she reduces her distur- bance to male social cohesion.” Female soldiers adopted physical strategies in order to earn honorary male status. In order for these women to be accepted by men, they could not be just women they have to be men. Therefore woman soldiers had to ascribe as the “honorary male status” in order for them to be included into the male combat unit.  This term is deemed the “historical product” of the two first decades of the 21st century. It fortunately displaced the slut - bitch binary for women, and that they no longer fit in the anomalous and liminal category. Women now in some of these cases are granted equal and honorary status as men. Furthermore in South America King mentions “Luisa Ortega has shown how conventional military masculinity has been reformed as a result of operational demands. The continued success of these organizations has relied not only upon the par- ticipation of large numbers of women who are involved in combat, but also upon the general inculcation of skills, such as emotional work or medical care, which were once defined as ‘female-coded tasks” Now due to this, masculine fighters were expected to demonstrate feminine characteristics. Women were then allowed to perform roles that were once reserved for men and vice versa. Western forces in Iraq and Afghanistan both require a great deal of women on the front line in combat to sustain personal numbers, and to also provide specialist functions. The military demanded the inclusion of women and this in turn is the reason why the new “honorary man’ category emerged.