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Governing “dependents”

The Canadian military family and gender, a policy analysis

Bibliographic Data

ID9939781
AuthorsLeigh Spanner (0000-0002-2650-1300, University of Alberta, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume72
Issue4
Pages484-502
Publication date2017-12-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal Canada s Journal of Global Policy Analysis (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-7020 • E-ISSN: 2052-465X
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0020702017740606
OpenAlexW2771652921
LanguageEN
Citations received2

Pioneering feminist International Relations scholarship suggests that in order to function, militaries rely on spouses, most often wives, to undertake the majority of domestic labour, suspend their own careers, and relocate willingly for new postings. However, the contemporary military family’s relationship to war making may be different because family forms are changing: norms around domestic responsibilities and primary earners suggest greater gender equality, and women are contributing to war making as soldiers. Thus, this paper asks whether the military’s reliance on the traditional family, and conventional gender relations, is being reinforced or destabilized by policies and programs that speak to Canadian military families. A critical feminist policy analysis of select policy and program documents, which address unique and characteristics of military life (mobility and separation) is undertaken.

Economics · Function (biology · Order (exchange · Political science · Scholarship · Sociology · Gender Studies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · Law

  • Soldier first or loyal military wife? What women in dual-service relationships reveal about the contemporary gendering of militaries

    Open Access•Leigh Spanner, Maya Eichler•International Feminist Journal of…•2025

  • Broadening Understandings of “Identity” Among Military Partners

    Open Access•Rachael Gribble, Donna L Crowe-Urbaniak et al.•Armed Forces & Society•2026

Citations per year2
Citation span2025 - 2026 (2)
Highly citedNo

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