The Depiction of Women in Combat Roles

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According to the observations of Vogel, Porter and Kebbell (2014: 91), women who are associated with violence e.g. within terrorist or counter-terrorist operations, are treated with fascination, or are put forward as examples of the abnormal. As a consequence, these views also perpetrates a pervasive discourse that still sees women as are an unusual presence on the frontline of battlefields, with the “large-scale participation” of women in what is still seen as a male-dominated role treated in a dismissive nature (91).

The depiction of women in combat roles tends is formulated from traditional representations of females being the victims of conflict – either directly as the spoils of war, or indirectly as widows or mourning mothers (Utas, 2005: 404). Sjoberg and Gentry commented on the large amounts of literature regarding war, violence and masculinity in international relations, and how often “masculine violence” has an adverse effect on feminine lives (2007: 3). So while the participation males in violence is seen as natural, when it comes to the participation of females, the consensus is that there must be underlying reasons i.e. circumstances out of their control, possibly as a result of personal idiosyncrasies, or pressures put upon them by male peers or a male-dominated environment (Vogel, Porter and Kebbell, 2014: 93).

This essay believes that feminine violence is depicted and controlled by labelling, discourse and framing individual cases into context that can be easily categorised using well-established narratives about female attributes. With positive examples (counter-terrorism and dying in battle), there is more focus on characteristics that identify them as female e.g. vulnerable, while with negative examples (terro...

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Hirsch, A. (2013) From Zulu to the ‘White Widow’, why do all African stories need a white face?, [Online], Available: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/04/zulu-white-widow-samantha-lewthwaite-westgate-mall [16/01/2013].

Kumar, D. (2010) Jihad Jane: Constructing the New Muslim Enemy, [Online], Available: http://www.fifth-estate-online.co.uk/comment/Jihad_Jane_Deepa_Kumar.pdf [16/01/2013].

Nir, O, (2002) The Palestinians see a ‘Joan of Arc’, [Online], Available: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/the-palestinians-see-a-joan-of-arc-1.53335 [15/01/2014].

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