All four readings for today focused on the topic of rape in terms of the military. Cynthia Enloe's two chapters revolve around militarized rape and why it occurs. Not surprisingly she chooses the Bosnian/ Serbian conflict as her backdrop to the discussion of mass rapes. One of the main reasons this occurs is due to the psychological and social construction of masculinity. In places such as Russia and other Eastern European countries, masculinity and a mans duty is ingrained into boys. If we trace back the historical roots of such countries we will discover that a young man's duty to his country is of great importance. Masculinity in these countries revolves around sacrificing yourself for the betterment of the nation state. Looking at World War II, we see that the Russian government chose to do this in the form of 'Ivan' a self sacrificing, strong man who was willing to die on the front lines for the Red Army. During this conflict, Russia literally went through two armies because their population allowed them to sustain such a loss. As discussed in Enloe's chapter, mass rape was rampant during WWII on both the German and Russian side. The victims were of course local women, who lived in the areas being conquered. The notion of masculinity combined with the psychological dynamics of being in a military allowed these men to think that rape was acceptable. Having read Christopher Browning's book, I would say that her assessment is quite accurate. The Nazi soldiers were given opportunities by their superiors to not participate in mass shootings of local villagers. However, almost all soldiers participated in fear that their manhood would be questioned or they would be ostracized from the group. Borislav Herik seems to have went through a similar feeling. The psychological pressure to join in on the gang rape was tremendous, although this does not for one second excuse his behavior. In participating in the rape, we see that Borislav is not a man. He raped the girl in fear of the consequences that awaited for him if he did not- mainly being sent to the front line.
Mass rape is not only reserved for countries that we deem to be less civilized than the United States. Cases of mass rape were present in Vietnam. As I am writing this I tried to google cases of rape in Vietnam, however the search is turning up very few hits- to be expected? Through my studies in other classes though, I know that a famous mass rape case was investigated. The soldiers claimed that they were ordered to rape the local villagers and that they could not disobey a direct order. Sociologists have poured over this case and have come to a general consensus that the psychological effects of militarization and routinization played a large role in why the soldiers carried out this order.
Turning to Myers article we see that rape is still a problem, even in 2011. Women GI's are now reporting rapes carried out by fellow soldiers. Many of the rapes occur by a soldier who lives in close quarters. The pain and frustration that ensues for these women seems to me to be almost unimaginable. Having to live and work with your attacker each day is horrible. Yet, many women are hesitant to report these rapes or attacks because they fear that they will not be taken seriously, or that they will not be believed or that their testimony will interfere with the mission and lower team morale. All these factors play a large part in whether women come forward. As shocking as American soldiers raping American soldiers is- it is quite astonishing that this isn't a larger issue.... or is it? The industrial military complex has an enormous role in the American societal structure. They wield a tremendous amount of power and generally can prevent such news from reaching the media. Additionally, who actually wants to hear about American soldiers raping one another? I have the privilege of attending Colgate University because I do not have to go overseas to defend our country. Thus, I try to block out the thousands of soldiers ( my age or my parent's age) who are dying overseas- simply because it's easier to do so. I do not mean to sound callous or insensitive when making such a statement, but in general I really think our society tends to categorize things, putting the least pleasant to the back. Furthermore, the soldiers committing the attacks are all someone's: brother, son, nephew, husband etc. Thus, many refuse to accept the serious nature of these crimes. Sympathy for these soldiers (rapists) starts to build when taking into account the fact that they are risking their lives for our countries. With sympathy comes excuses and denial. The common phrase "boys will be boys" gets thrown around. Well maybe it's time to really examine how detrimental that phrase can be,
What an amazing post! Your post largely expand my knowledge about rape in war. I totally agree with you on the point that rape conducted by soldiers was not simply crime incited by "uncontrollable (sexual) "drives"" (Enloe, 119) but also by the pressure and fear the soldiers feel that they may lost their brotherhood and sign of masculinity if they refuse to rape.
ReplyDeleteI also admire your courage to state the fact that you incline to ignore the fact that a lot of soldiers dying overseas. And i believe a lot of people have the same inclination as you do.
And because there is a prevalent belief that good people would not conduct crimes, common people also tend not to accept the fact that these admirable soldiers who defend their countries overseas may also cause sufferings on other women.
But people need to learn that their tolerance also contribute to the sufferings imposed on those victims who are other people's moms, daughters, and wives.
It was interesting how Enlow almost "justified" rape by saying that pressures and fears the soldiers feel that they may lose their masculinity is what causes them to commit rapes. I would think that just by serving in the military, these men are preserving their masculinity. Maybe it's not that at all... maybe they feel threatened in a way by these women fighting alongside them since historically, wars were fought only by men.
ReplyDeleteDrew, I think you make a really good point on how people who are not directly affected by the war do not really want to think about it, especially the bad things happening over there (i.e. soldiers raping soldiers). It is so true that as privileged citizens, having the opportunity to attend a prestigious school, we often over look the sacrifices others are making to defend our freedom. I hate to admit it, but those of us who do not have to go and fight in the war tend to have more influence over governmental affairs. Perhaps if we choose to stand up for what is right and making the raping of female soldiers a mainstream issue, then maybe it will finally be addressed.
ReplyDeleteI think we overlook the crimes soldiers commit because they are doing something we would not want to do. They are risking their lives, fighting etc. And most people would never trade places with them. And of course, we don't want the draft reinstated. So we give them a lot of lee-way. But that's not ok. Human rights cannot be violated. And boys cannot just be boys. Its ridiculous.
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