It is important to note that there are no images of women in this exhibition. The term “brotherhood” is inherently gendered, and intentionally draws attention to the gender dichotomy within the military. Although women have been part of military efforts since the Revolutionary War, the Pentagon did not officially open all military jobs to women until 2015. Women’s military achievements are often undervalued as well. In the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for instance, the all-female Team Lioness gathered essential intelligence from women in areas where it was taboo for members of the opposite sex to interact, yet people rarely learn about these important groups and missions. The field of war photography is also highly gendered, with very few female war photographers working today. In part this results from the fact that war photographers, such as Tim Hetherington, typically live and work with the men they photograph—a practice that inherently excludes women. As a reflection this pattern of exclusion, this exhibition features only one female war photographer: Kate Brooks.
As US Navy Russian Linguist Allyssa Austin discusses in the video, women are often separated from men during training and, when they are mixed, there is a sense of competition between genders instead of a supportive network. In a personal interview, Julie Reed, a Naval veteran who first enlisted in 1973, talks about the prevalent issue of sexual assault and harassment in the military. It seems to her that, since women were not allowed in combat or to go to sea, men in the Navy often felt a sense of power and entitlement over them. Unlike Austin, however, Reed felt a close bond with the women she trained and served with in the navy. As was the practice then, her boot camp experience was entirely female, and she mentioned that conflict between recruits only arose when they were in competition for promotions. For Reed, her experience with the culture of masculinity differed from that of other women because of her sexual orientation. She felt that, as gay woman, she was more able to brush off harassment and negative remarks and act like “one of the guys.”
As touched on by each of the interviewed male veterans, the military’s prevalent culture of masculinity becomes deeply ingrained into the psyche of its members. They discuss a constant pressure to be the strongest, the fastest, and the most mentally tough. This competitive edge can be useful in terms of producing an elite fighting force, but it can also lead to hazing and individuals pushing themselves past their limits. The environment of an isolated military base in a combat zone further complicates definitions of masculinity and intimacy. The cultural scripts of available masculinities are reduced, due to the regimented nature and high physical demands of the military setting. The effects of groupthink and peer pressure can create a standardized definition of masculinity that all soldiers are expected to uphold and conform to. This environment does not allow a space for women or femininity, as evidenced by the lack of female representation within war photography as a whole.