A reflective analysis of war rape through the lens of hegemonic masculinity

Abstract

This thesis is an exploration of the nature and prevalence of sexual violence in large scale conflicts. It is written with a reflective standpoint as an innovative methodology, drawing on the work of Heather Smith, and the conversational nature present in the Feminist International Relations literature it draws on. The theoretical framework used is a lens of dominant gender concepts, most notably hegemonic masculinity. It analyzes the militarized nature of popular masculinity, and in turn reflects on how these notions of masculinity are embedded within ideas of war and military. Then the thesis explores the concept of hegemonic masculinity and how it relates to the production of gender in society, and in turn how these models contribute to violence, war, and war rape. The overall findings of this thesis are that hegemonic masculinity contributes to an arrangement of society that allows for high levels of not only rape, but war itself. The evidence used to come to these conclusions also suggest that there is hope of ameliorating the problem of sexual violence in war, but in turn that this would necessarily come with a reduction of war itself.