The Militarization of “Equality” and “Diversity”:

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Other Title
  • 軍事化される「平等」と「多様性」
  • 軍事化される「平等」と「多様性」 : 米軍を手がかりとして
  • グンジカ サレル 「 ビョウドウ 」 ト 「 タヨウセイ 」 : ベイグン オ テガカリ ト シテ
  • ――米軍を手がかりとして――
  • A Case Study of the U.S. Military

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<p>This paper critically examines the way in which the military uses “equality” and “diversity” as resources to make their service more attractive. Although, in principle, nation-states began with general conscription, in reality, “nation” has become racialized, gendered, and sexualized. Due to their citizensoldier arrangement, people who could serve in the military had a higher standing within the national hierarchy. People who have been marginalized from the military due to their race, gender, and/or sexuality had a lower status in the national hierarchy, and therefore have insisted on their full inclusion in the military. This paper uses U.S. military history as a case study. In the first section, I will give an overview of the struggle African–Americans, women, and LGBT people have faced in joining the U.S. military. Although this history appears to be triumphs for their liberation, it can be interpreted as a process of militarizing their social movements.</p><p>From this perspective, I will critically examine the contemporary reality of the U.S. military in the second section. Today, websites for the armed forces are rife with words celebrating diversity and equal opportunity. The U.S. military, however, largely consists of underprivileged youth and indigenous people, along with immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship. The identities of these demographics are constructed vis-à-vis non-American low-wage workers from developing countries working in PMSCs (Private Military and Security Companies). Finally, keeping U.S. military history in mind, I offer some suggestions for the current Japanese situation. In 2015, the Ministry of Defense opened combat pilot positions to women, following the Act to Advance Women’s Success in Their Working Life. We should consider this decision in the context of gendered politics pursued by the current administration. The militarization of Japanese society is quietly progressing alongside a militarized usage of “equality” and “diversity.”</p>

Journal

  • jenda shigaku

    jenda shigaku 12 (0), 37-50, 2016

    The Gender History Association of Japan

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