War and Gender
In South Korea, our young men have to do military service (I mentioned this in an earlier post). It is considered their duty as ‘men’ and until recently, it was a duty that many young men took very seriously and proudly. My grandfather still talks about it with great pride and stays in regular touch with his military friends. Times were very different in his days of course as North Korea was more of a serious and immediate threat in the late 50s. Another big change is the attitude of women and the military. In the past, women were consigned to rolling bandages, and on the battlefield, confined to working as nurses in field hospitals. Though their work was valued, no one expected the young women of South Korea to do their ‘duty’ and put in the time in active service.
Times are changing, however. Recently, one of my brother’s friends became exempt from having to do his military service because his older sister decided that she would like to join the military and become a professional soldier. At first, her parents — especially her father and grandmother- were against it and tried their best to dissuade her. Their main arguments were that 1) she might damage her body and ruin her chances to have children in the future 2) the military was physically too hard for women. However, she persevered and is now serving. In the last few years, the Korean government has tried their best to recruit young women and have made a lot of changes to attract new female recruits by updating their facilities, promotion practices, and trying to stamp out any lingering sexism in the military system. More women than ever before are visible among the highest branches of the Korean military and this has gone a long way in making the military a more attractive option for many young women.
I am talking about this because this is Professor Centeno’s topic this week. He talks about the role of sex vs gender in war, and how they are different. Sex is a biological role and has to do with women being able to reproduce. Gender, on the other hand, is about socializing and the roles that society has assigned to men and women. He argues that because women are the only ones who can actually reproduce, women are given a special status within society and are granted a certain amount of protection. Of course, it’s men who must provide the protection, and though men are also needed in the propagation of society, as fewer men are strictly necessary, they are therefore considered more extendable. Therefore, in a situation like war, till now, it has been men who are put in the front line of fire, men who are sent off to defend the country, and their womenfolk who are left at home. Professor Centeno also talks about how this way of thinking is deeply rooted in our social culture. In the past, there are many examples of war propaganda where posters/ speeches/ images are used to encourage men to fight for their women. In that way, women become a justification for war, and while men certainly have physical differences like testosterone which make them more aggressive and physical than women, it is also social expectations and conditioning that make war a male-dominated field. As societies, cultural expectations, and traditional gender roles change, so is our concept of men and women in the military. No longer are women relegated to staying at home, away from danger. Female soldiers across the world are now holding their own working side by side with their male counterparts. These changes really show me how far Korea has come in terms of gender equality and an awakening of social consciousness. We might not be where Western countries like America are yet, but we are definitely gaining fast.
