“Underlying the political economy of militarism there has to be an insidious form of social organisation and control: patriarchy. In many cultures, the dominant ideation of masculinity is a heterosexual man who is independent, risk-taking, aggressive, physically tough, courageous, rational and unemotional.
Myths of militarism and the military way of life have shaped mainstream ideals of the adult male role model. Those constructed ideals of what is heroic, honourable, brave and selfless – in particular the male as protector of helpless women and children – mean that war, fighting, the use of weapons and violence come to define how to be a ‘real man’.
This ‘ideal’ of violent masculinity harms everyone and everything: the ‘constructed’ male himself, but more particularly, all who do not comply with that gender norm … women and LGBT+ persons are disproportionately impacted by armed conflict and armed violence. That is, relative to men, the number of women and LGBT+ persons who are harmed by the use of weapons is much higher in proportion to the number who use weapons themselves.
Gender discrimination and gender-based violence are often exacerbated during and after armed conflict, as guns are used to facilitate sexual violence, femicide and the murder of trans and queer persons. The use of explosive weapons in populated areas leads to forced displacement, and displaced women, girls and LGBT+ youth face a higher risk of sexual exploitation and abuse, including harassment, rape, trafficking, forced prostitution and other crimes.”
A feminist approach for addressing excessive military spending, Ray Acheson and Madeleine Rees, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, Occasional Papers (No 35, April 2020)
Living under Patriarchy 