Bring Me Men: Military Masculinity and the Benign Facade of American Empire, 1898-2001

Citation:

Belkin, Aaron. 2012. Bring Me Men: Military Masculinity and the Benign Facade of American Empire, 1898-2001. New York: Columbia University Press.

Author: Aaron Belkin

Abstract:

The masculinity of those who serve in the American military would seem to be indisputable, yet it is full of contradictions. To become a warrior, one must renounce those things in life that are perceived to be unmasculine. Yet at the same time, the military has encouraged and even mandated warriors to do exactly the opposite. Explores these contradictions in great detail and shows that their invisibility has been central to the concealment of American empire's darkest secrets. By examining case studies that expose these contradictions, the phenomenon of male-on-male rape at the U.S. Naval Academy, for example, as well as historical and contemporary attitudes toward cleanliness and filth, Belkin utterly upends our understanding of the relationship between warrior masculinity, American empire and the fragile processes sustaining it. (WorldCat)

Topics: Combatants, Male Combatants, Gender, Men, Masculinity/ies, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries, Sexual Violence, Male Perpetrators, Rape, SV against Men Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2012