The Myth of the Warrior

Martial Masculinity and the End of Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Bibliographic Data

ID3633945
AuthorsL Michael Allsep (Maxwell Air Force Base, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume60
Issue2-3
Pages381-400
Publication date2013-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Homosexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0091-8369 • E-ISSN: 1540-3602
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00918369.2013.744928
PMID23414278
OpenAlexW1665175433
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited9

The image of the male warrior still dominates military culture, to the exclusion of women and homosexuals. Complicating the picture is a technological revolution that promises to widen the current gap between the myth and reality of the modern warrior even further. Nonetheless, despite long arguing that homosexuals were a direct threat to military culture and effectiveness, the Pentagon has largely treated the end of Don't Ask, Don't Tell as a policy matter. The difficulties still experienced by women in the armed services 40 years after they were first incorporated in significant numbers indicates that this response will be insufficient to address the deeper cultural issues. Gender issues implicate deeply held beliefs and values that persist even in the face of years of official admonishment and denial. Unless the military begins to transparently bridge the gap between the myth and reality of the modern warrior, military service without discrimination based on sexual orientation will remain an unachieved goal

Aesthetics · Denial · Face (sociological concept · Martial arts · Masculinity · Military service · Mythology · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Social science · Sociology · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · Gender Studies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Psychology

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