Abstract
ABSTRACTThis article explores how women, men, and gender equality in the military have been debated, made sense of, regulated, and dealt with in Swedish contemporary history. It takes its empirical point of departure in 1965, when the issue of military conscription for women was first raised in Sweden, and ends with the implementation of so called gender-neutral conscription in 2018. The study is based on a wide range of sources, collected through a combination of extensive archival work, ethnographic studies, and interviews. The analysis shows how men have been the standard against which women were measured throughout the period studied. Women service members were simultaneously perceived both as a problem and as a solution to a range of problems in the organisation. Women’s ‘different’ bodies were considered problematic, while staff shortages and demands for specific personnel qualities rendered the ‘woman soldier’ a solution, in particular in relation to international missions.
Highlights
In the summer of 2018, 4000 Swedish nineteen-year-olds began their military service.[1]
This article represents the first scholarly effort to map out and analyse the process of gender integration of military positions and training in Sweden. It provides an overview of continuity and change pertaining to gender relations in the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) over the last 50 years
In the beginning of the period studied, the recruitment of military personnel was based on conscription for men, while women were excluded from military training and professions altogether
Summary
In the summer of 2018, 4000 Swedish nineteen-year-olds began their military service.[1]. The report even issued a warning for birth defects, if pregnant women were to work in some of the more specialised positions in tactical aviation or the submarine service.[41] It was an amalgamation of assumptions, opinions, and scientific findings comparing female and male bodies that formed a key area for the discussion, preparation, and implementation of the gender-neutral military reform. Conducting a study on the submarine environment and its effect on female bodies was not deemed cost-effective, as it was assumed that only a handful of women would show interest in such jobs For this reason, and because pregnancies were expected to make women’s years as active pilots fewer than men’s, the Supreme Commander called for submarine and pilot positions to remain men-only.[44] In sum, the female body was considered a potential problem in the military, because it differed from the male norm. Beginning with the youth league of the People’s Party and their demand for gender-neutral conscription in 1965 and ending with the 2018 implementation of conscription for both women and men, the various proposals and implemented reforms challenged one of the most fundamental foundations of gender relations within a society by including women among those defined as the armed protector of the nation
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