ABSTRACT

This chapter aims to introduce readers to feminist scholarship on militarism by asking three interrelated questions: How do feminist scholars conceptualize militarism? How is gendered militarism evolving in the contemporary period? and What do feminists say about how to resist or transform militarism? It explores the feminist argument that gender and militarism need to be conceptualized as mutually constitutive, and that the relevance of gendered militarism goes beyond the state, the military, or war to the broader militarization of society and everyday life. The chapter argues that the concept of gendered militarism helps explain the perpetuation and persistence of militarized violence in global politics, but that it is important to examine the evolving nature of gendered militarism. It lays out two different feminist approaches to countering gendered militarism, one insisting that anti-militarism is central to feminism and the other seeking to redefine gender roles within the framework of contemporary militaries.