Gender Camouflage

Book excerpt: Controversy about women in the military continues, yet women's relations with the military go far beyond whether they serve in the ranks. Gender Camouflage brings together a diverse array of authors to explore the controversy surrounding women's military service, to examine the invisibility of civilian women who support the institution, and to expose the military's efforts to camouflage their support and contributions. Contributors first consider nurses, servicewomen, military academy students, female veterans, and lesbians. The focus then shifts to military wives, women employed by the DoD, and female civilian military instructors whose work is less visible but no less essential to the institution. The book also examines the experiences of women outside of the military, such as "comfort women" near U.S. bases, women engaged in peacework, and women workers affected by military spending in the federal budget. Analytic chapters are juxtaposed with first-person narratives by women who have actually been there, including a member of the first gender-integrated class at West Point, the first female civilian instructors at the U.S. Naval Academy, and an African American Air Force Nurse Corps veteran. Contributors include Connie Reeves, Georgia Clark Sadler, Gwyn Kirk, and Joan Furey.