This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by KAPLAN, D. Articles by BEN-ARI, E. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Brothers and Others in Arms

Managing Gay Identity in Combat Units of the Israeli Army

Ben-Gurion University, Israel

EYAL BEN-ARI

The Hebrew University, Israel

Although policies regarding the enlistment of homosexuals in Western armies have become the subject of a heated debate, their own experiences in the military have received little systematic analysis. The authors examine the experience of gay men in combat units of the Israeli army, as derived from retrospective life stories. The authors found no common adjustment problems related to these men's sexual orientation. At the same time, variable identification strategies with hegemonic masculine military culture emerged. One is engagement and includes identification with soldiery as a test for masculinity, taking part in heterosexual discourse, and an active attempt to develop social ties. The second strategy is compartmentalization, which involves focusing on professional aspects of the military job and building walls in the interpersonal sphere. Consequently, the authors propose that the ties between behavioral adaptation to military service, processes of identification with organizational values, and the acquisition of a particular identity are loosely coupled.

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Vol. 29, No. 4, 396-432 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/089124100129023954


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. F. MONAGHAN Opportunity, Pleasure, and Risk: An Ethnography of Urban Male Heterosexualities Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, August 1, 2002; 31(4): 440 - 477. [Abstract] [PDF]