MILITARISM AND SEXISM

How is peace a feminist issue?

The article below describes the relationship between militarism and sexism. The article Is available in its unabridged version from: VImochana, Forum for Women's Rights, Post Box 4605, Bangalore - 560 046 INDIA.

Militarism and sexism complement, reinforce and help to perpetuate each other. They also constitute major obstacles to overcoming war, largely as they affect the education and formation of generation after generation of women and men who accept these belief systems and their institutional consequences as part of the fixed order of things dictated by an immutable "human nature". Indeed, insistence on the concept of the immutability of human nature and the desirability of a fixed order so disturbingly (sometimes so poignantly) articulated by the current resurgence of ultra conservative and authoritarian movements, is the very core of these belief systems. It is also the major paradigm from which traditional socialisation processes and institutional education are derived. These processes still, in spite of the rate and scope of the changes in the world about us, are designed to prepare people for specific unchanging roles in a society expected to remain structurally the same, generation after generation. Among these specific roles are those determined by sex, and among the expectations of fixed sex roles is the likelihood of young men serving in war, war being viewed, as are sex roles, as the inevitable consequence of "human nature". Thus, militarism has been a significant aspect of the socialisation and education of boys and largely determines what comprises socially desirable masculine attributes. These attributes tend to be qualities deemed necessary for military service, such as bravery, aggressiveness,
endurance, discipline and the repression of the "softer" human sentiments. Boys are urged to strive towards public achievement, these intrinsic parts of their masculine identity. They are also reassured, perhaps as an inducement to be willing, if necessary, to make "the ultimate sacrifice," that this identity is superior to that of the "other", the feminine identity.

The school-age child is taught every day from kindergarten through secondary school that to be orderly and obedient demonstrates your goodness and worthiness of love. ... If the children's day involves athletics, either practice or an actual competition, they are urged to "lay l o w " or "waste" their opponents. The powerful lesson of sports in general is that the highest human value and virtue is winning and winning always means the opponent must lose proving less value and virtue in the loser or the "other". If you may some day be called upon to kill "others" you need to believe in their lack of value and virtue. Small wonder that boys grow up believing that true masculine identity resides in soldiering, fighting and winning, and that some people (especially women who cannot even engage in, much less triumph in the most physically challenging sports) are less valuable than others.

The media "bombard" our young people with entertainment based on violence and depict aggressive behavior as the route to adventure and achievement. They advertise as
"toys", miniature, sometimes very sophisticated, instruments of violence. The plots of stories, films and television programs frequently revolve around a contest or  competition between opposing interests, most often between the forces of good (a case in point is "the Force" popularised by the film "Star Wars"). Thus children are taught the lessons that to serve one's country requires overcoming its enemies, and that success depends upon the capacity to compete, the ability to win, and the willingness to kill.

Common Characteristics of Militarism and Sexism

The military chain of command, while more complex, is conceptually close to the patriarchal family, both being essentially hierarchical organisations. Small wonder that famous generals often become "father figures" to their countries and are frequently called upon to save their nations from "childish" civil disorder. The nation, like the troops,
like wives and children, submits more readily to the dominance of a military patriarchy, i.e., "the masculine," than to a weaker civil state, i.e., "the feminine". Acceptance of
conditions of dominance and submission as the price tag of "security", are characteristics of both patriarchy and of military dictatorship.

Obedience to authority is the corner-stone of an effective military machine and the fundamental principle of the patriarchal family. To question authority is to threaten the
natural order. Militarism and sexism require that service and sacrifice be performed without reflection. Freedom and equality, to the contrary, require the full development of
the reflective and analytic capacities of all citizens. The core of fulfilling human relations mutually and the essential basis of democratic society, rational and reflective decision making, are fundamental values in conflict with the prevalent belief systems of militarism and sexism.

Implications for Peace Education

The current crisis in values deplored by both conservatives and radicals has helped to produce the much needed challenge to militarism and sexism as they affect all areas of life. While one side considers the cause of the crisis to be the erosion of the traditional world views and values, the other sees the roots in the reassertion of these views and values as a response to the unprecedented global problems we currently face. The latter urge the antithesis of these views and values as a response to the crisis, including such notions as unilateral disarmament and eradication of all social differences between women and men. The former clamor for more numerous and more powerful weapons and extol the virtues of "macho man" and "the total woman". What are the implications for Peace Education?

Education for peace seems to be synonymous with that form of global education directed at social transformation. It implies education for fundamental change in the belief
systems which sustain the present order. It demands reformulation and re-prioritization of values and the creation of new institutions capable of actualising the fundamental
human values.

The most urgent task for peace education is teaching the skills and capacities necessary to create and pursue alternatives to the present order. ... Values clarification and systems analysis are, therefore, pedagogically essential to education for building alternative social structures.

MEETINGS FOR PEACE

WOMEN'S PEACE CAMP IN FRAUENFEL

From 2—18 of August, 1982, a women's peace camp was established in Frauenfeld, Switzerland, in protest against the exhibition of weapons organised by an organisation of Swiss Army officers (SOG) and to express their indignation and anger at seeing visitors coming from all over the world  to worship weapons in their country. (Another burning issue in conjunction with this exhibition is the integration of women into the army. Swiss women, who only recently gained the right to vote, are likely to very shortly be "emancipated" by compulsory service in the army.

In the camp the women discussed how to work for peace and how to resolve conflicts. They had workshops on militarism, violence against women, and destruction of our environment. The demonstration at the end of the exhibition was not the aim of the camp but was an expression of the engagement of the women against war. After the camp, an evaluation discussion was held in preparation for future action. Although the site has not yet been chosen, a new camp for women is foreseen for the summer of 1983.

source: FraueZitig no. 3 1982  Postfach 648 CH - 8025 Zurich SWITZERLAND

STOP THE ARMS RACE (STAR)

STAR (Stop the Arms Race) is a campaign organised by WILPF (Women's International League for Peace and Freedom). They are collecting signatures for a message to be sent to the White House that at least 1 million women do not want Cruise and Pershing missiles deployed in Europe. The same letter will be sent to NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on the 8th of March. On this same day (International Women's Day) a big demonstration is planned. Al-Raida (Institute of Women's Studies in the Arab World) suggests that this message be extended to Russia, the Middle and Far East, Africa and Latin America. Because of the interdependency of the world, peace efforts should be spread out all over the globe.

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, 1 rue de Varembe 1211 Geneve 20 SWITZERLAND

CONFERENCE ON WOMEN AND MILITARISM

The women of the feminist bi-monthly "Lila Distel" organised a conference on women and militarism in Saarbrucken. West Germany, in the autumn of 1981. They prepared written papers, statements, articles, and other information so that attending women were well informed. The workshops covered the women's peace movement, the
draft, the newly imposed weapons of the USA, imperialism, women and mothers against nuclear threat, civil service, patriarchal and psychological warfare, rape, resistance and disobedience, publicity, and some local actions to learn from. Lots of information and new ideas for further reflection! Coverage in Lila Distel December 1981 (c/o Birgit
Wolz, Forbacher Strasse 4 1 , D-66 Saarbriicken 1, WEST GERMANY