Discourses of Gender in the Contemporary British Army

This article is about the discourses of gender which circulate within debates about the inclusion of women in the British Army. Drawing on material from elite policy debates within the British Ministry of Defence, Army, and Parliament, the article uses a methodology informed by theories of discourse analysis to examine how the figures of the male and female soldier are constructed. It focuses on three specific policy debates: the expansion in the number of posts open to women soldiers in the British Army, the introduction of “gender-free” physical tests as part of the selection process for the recruits to the Army, and the policy decision to exclude women from direct combat posts. The constructions of gender implicit within these policy debates are examined. The article concludes by considering these discursive constructions within the context of wider arguments about the changing practices of war and what these mean for women’s future military participation.