'Recruiting' the Self The Military and the Making of Masculinities

'Recruiting' the Self: The Military and the Making of Masculinities Using a grounded theory approach, I use narrative accounts from interviews with 43 pre-active duty service members (25 Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets and 18 Delayed Entry Program (DEP) enlisted men) to understand how men use the military as a backdrop for constructing a hegemonically masculine identity. Initially, I outline the concept of the warrior discourse, a set of collective ideals depicting physically strong, morally upstanding humans that reluctantly use violence and aggression to conquer evil for the benefit of the greater social good. I then explore how individuals work with this discourse in their personal narratives to present selves/identities in which themes of duty and sacrifice, integrity, and dedication become personal characteristics. Responding to questions about why they?ve decided to join, men suggest the military is the appropriate place to acquire these characteristics. I then focus explicitly on the process of hegemonic masculine identity construction in which men?s narratives situate them as physically fit, tough, emotionally controlled, and heterosexual. Men also construct hegemonic masculinity through comparative practice, a process whereby individuals compare themselves to others in an effort to construct hierarchies of dominance. Using civilians and men and women in the military, men create hierarchal orderings of masculinities in which they situate themselves as more physically able, emotionally controlled, virtuous, and dedicated than those their comparison group. I conclude by exploring areas for future research. ( en )