Distinguishing between the “soldier” and the “brute”: engraving hierarchies of masculinity in conflict-related sexual violence discourse

ABSTRACT

On the one hand, feminists critique the securitization of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) on various grounds, but, on the other hand, also raise concerns that the Western hyper-fixation on CRSV reproduces colonial narratives about race, gender, and sexuality. However, the productive effects of specifically Western state discourse about CRSV have yet to be fully examined in this context. How do Western states make use of the colonial gaze in constructing CRSV as an issue of grave concern, and to what ends? Further, what are the implications of this for the nexus of feminist critique and praxis? This article utilizes a macro-structural approach to discourse analysis to analyze the 2014 Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, led by the United Kingdom. It argues that Western delegates securitized CRSV by relying on tropes of racialized men as maintaining backwards practices of gender and sexuality, and the construction of CRSV as a “pre-modern” weapon of war. This frame reproduces a racialized hierarchy of masculinity that constructs men from “conflict countries” as potential perpetrators in need of intervention, and men from “safe countries” as role models for gender-conscious militarized manhood. The article concludes by identifying potential practical implications of this discourse.

KEYWORDS:

• Conflict-related sexual violence
• security
• hegemonic masculinity
• colonialism
• discourse analysis

Acknowledgments

This article has benefited immensely from the feedback of many of my colleagues and mentors. I thank the members of my comprehensive exam committee, Adam Dahl, Meredith Loken, and Laura Briggs; the attendants of the Symposium on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence against Men and Boys hosted by the University of Leipzig, Germany; the attendants of the Human Security Lab workshop at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA; and the two anonymous reviewers for their time and thoughtful consideration of my work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jenna Norosky

Jenna Norosky is a PhD student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA. Their dissertation investigates the trajectory of conflict-related sexual violence against men and boys from a “silenced” issue to an increasingly present feature of global sexual violence discourse.