Her Cold War

About this book

"In the late 1940s, defense officials structured women's military roles on the basis of gender differences, presuming women's and men's biological differences made it necessary to create distinct opportunities - and limitations - for servicewomen. Classified as noncombatants, servicewomen filled roles that they might hold in civilian life, such as secretarial or nursing positions. Defense officials also created regulations that prohibited pregnant women and mothers from remaining in the military, and encouraged many women to end their service commitment early if they married. But by the 1970s many servicewomen, joined in the civilian world by second-wave feminists, called for a broader definition of equality free of gender-based service restrictions. Women's continued exclusion from combat roles signaled that servicewomen would only be equal with men when they shared responsibility in all aspects of national defense, including combat (which remained a prerequisite for promotion leadership positions). Many of the battles that Tanya Roth's subjects fought paved the way for other servicepeople, including people with disabilities, LGBT and gender nonconforming people, noncitizens, and more. Like women during the Cold War, these members of the military have had and continue to fight a war with some victories and many institutional and social obstacles"--