Surviving The Wars : Binary Disintegrations Of Homosociality And Homosexuality

The process of repatriation of servicemen who had fought in the First and Second World War was uneasy, as these men returned to a society that had undergone great transformations. The responses to the socially accepted standards of behaviour were widely variable, however this essay will aim to demonstrate some of the ways that returned soldiers negotiated the transformed social milieu that they had returned home too. This essay aims to also explore how expectations placed upon returned soldiers was shaped by the influence of pre-war gender roles as well as the emergence of the culturally mythology of the

As a society, we feed off of each other for what a proper response to something may be. As children, we first look to see our mother’s reaction after falling down; if she is calm, I should also be. We look to each other for what a definition of things should be, as well. In the 1950’s, it was generally obscene for a woman on television to show her belly button, whereas today we will show nude breasts on primetime programming. This follows the sociological theory of symbolic interactionism, where society and individual social interaction provides a subjective meaning to deviant behavior. Many social definitions change for the better, however some change for the worse. One such example was once viewed as normal, with no second thoughts given to it, but now is seen as an actual social problem affecting some groups aversely. This is the topic of homosexuality, a subject that has been on the receiving end of both accepting and discriminating cultures for thousands of years.

'One of the paradoxes of the War - one of the many - was that this most brutal of conflicts should set up a relationship between officers and men that was... domestic. Caring. As Layard would undoubtedly have said, maternal.' -Pat Barker: Birdsong

O 'Brien illustrates to us the necessity for each man to be connected to their old life, telling a story of Mark Fossie flying in his girlfriend to ease his loneliness (104-05). Each soldier found himself facing insurmountable barriers throughout the war, and these small effects and coping mechanisms were often the only necessity that would give them reason to return home again. They needed personal methods of coping with the war, and this primeval survival was the only way to remain a man.

What defines a person? Is it something physically and biologically determined? Or is it behavioral and psychological? Perhaps it could be both. In most circumstances, people do not get to choose which of these characteristics define them. People judge other people—that is just part of human nature. Sometimes a person can have one trait or characteristic that tends to overshadow all else. Sociologists have come up with a name for this social phenomenon; it is master status. In order to describe how this works, status must first be defined as the position or role a person occupies in a group (Neubeck, Glasberg 2005: G-10). Then master status can be understood as the one status, among several that each

Not every man who 's fought in a war planned on doing so. In fact, not all of them even want to. It 's rare to find enough people voluntarily willing to lay down their lives for their country, so more often than not militaries used what we would call “citizen soldiers.” Citizen soldiers are exactly what they sound like, regular citizens taken from society and turned into people capable of serving in the military. Although it may seem obvious when plainly written out, citizen soldiers had vastly different experiences compared to career soldiers, and Stephen Ambrose attempted to pin down that specific experience in his book Citizen Soldier. Ambrose uses oral interviews from World War II veterans and other materials to explain the experiences of the common American soldier who served in WWII between D-Day and the eventual surrender of the German forces. However, when examining his book, it 's important to ask how successful Ambrose was in painting an accurate picture of this kind of soldier 's life during his service. Is the information he uses specific to the men who served in Europe, or can it also be linked back to the soldiers in the Pacific? This paper will evaluate his work by comparing it to oral interviews from WWII veterans both from the same areas that Ambrose 's veterans serve in and in locations not included in his work.

Even though soldiers are able to distract themselves from the horrors that they witness on the front, war psychologically damages them and creates the “lost generation”. The young men find it increasingly difficult to think and act with the mindset of a civilian. In war, the men only experience despair, death, and fear, so their mind is enveloped by negative thoughts that

In actuality, veterans continue to face barriers on their process for resocialization. Despite the effort that society puts in to ease such transition veterans find difficulty adapting to modern society due to a warfare identity. The military trains its veterans with the purpose to make them stronger in personality as well as to teach them how to control their emotions. Veterans are force to assimilate the military culture by detaching from their very own self-identity prior to the military. The identity that has been created by the military is also responsible for the negative stigma that our veterans’ currently suffer in today’s society. They are often portray as, murderous and violent. These traits are not strictly related to combat, but

Premised within an unbelievable scenario is the story of male soldier, Mark Fossie, in the Vietnam War who brings his sweetheart, Mary Anne Belle, to his platoon. While Fossie wishes to uphold the traditional gender dichotomy in a foreign land, he doesn’t consider the effects of a war on a sweetheart. When a person goes to war, “[they] come over clean and [they] get dirty and afterwards it’s never the same” (O’Brien 81). In Tim O’Brien’s Vietnam War fiction, The Things They Carried, he explores how humans comprehend the experiences of other humans. To convey his understanding of the inner workings of human perception, he tells a story through Rat Kiley, who “had a reputation for exaggeration and overstatement.”

Since the first conflicts thousands of years ago, war has been a constant occurrence in this world. Men have risked their lives to brutally kill an enemy for some justified or unjustified reason. What portion of those men return home whole and sound? How have these men changed? Can they recover? Jim O 'Brien’s “Speaking of Courage” wants readers to pose these questions; arriving at the sad but very well existent conclusion. Through the protagonist’s Paul Berlin, actions and mindset, O 'Brien reveals that in the United States, especially after modern wars such as Vietnam, an unfair view of veterans has emerged. These beliefs do not help them cope with all the horrors they see. In modern times, even if soldiers don’t come home with physical wounds, they are still damaged inside, mentally. As a country we have to change, we must stop being indifferent and help these veterans or else the men who protect us will not be able to protect themselves.

Men in war would spend weeks, months, and even years with each other, and they would become genuinely close. Paul Baumer says of his comrades: “They are more to me than life, these voices, these quiet words” (Remarque 212). When Paul Baumer and his friends were reunited, there was a peace of mind in the soldiers. Despite the sound of bombs overhead, the soldiers felt calm and all was right because they were together. Soldiers would march in blocks side by side to go to places. During the night while marching, the men would let each other know of the dangers in front of them: “From ahead come warnings: ‘Look out, deep shell-hole on the left’-‘Mind, trenches’” (58). They knew they could not protect each other from everything, but were mindful

Moreover, a soldier is often seen or imagined as a strong male. Although these are generalizations these claims are not unsubstantiated. Our societal norms and values assigned to both men and women their roles and expectations from the day they were born through a process called gender socialization. Men and women are raised to conform to the specific gender role whether it be the male or female. These roles create and foster a preconceived notion of one's expected behaviors, attitudes, and personality characteristics. Therefore, women in the military as to not seem “weak” may have this overwhelming sense of needing to change and become more “manly” and not fight like a girl, in essence creating an identity crisis for these women. Ashley et al. (2017) state, women feel the need to conform to the hyper-masculine standards of the military culture for interpersonal interactions and values. This paper also examines of factors of female veteran suicide such as stigma and lack of education. The purpose of this paper is to distinguish if gender socialization of has led to an identity crisis among female service members and veterans, creating a jump in suicide rates among female service members and veterans. Furthermore, the paper identifies the stakeholders, policy changes, recommended evidence-based interventions, technological resources, and recommendations for the future in preventing veteran suicide among female

Throughout The Things They Carried, society’s antagonizing treatment towards the soldiers and veterans is symbolized through O’Brien’s characterization of women as selfish, insensitive, and ignorant.

even though sexuality can be considered universal, the sexual behaviors affiliated with it offer different attitudes in various communities. Sexuality is aligned to sexual attraction where individuals can identify themselves with a broad range of sexuality that is bisexual, gay or being lesbian. Sexuality can change over time in a person depending on the circumstances surrounding him or her. It may be affected by the social circle and emotional imbalances that may occur in an individual. Interestingly there exists sexual inequality among many societies in the world. As observed, many societies encourage men to have multiple sex partners but forbid it in women. Moreover, pre-marital sex is promoted in men, but women are flaunted if they participate in pre-marital sex. Across the globe, Western Europe has embraced certain norms in sexuality such as homosexuality whereas African society embraces a negative attitude towards the same.

Homosexuality is genetic! How can this statement be true? It is indeed true in the precise fact that Romans 3:23 points out, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Humanity has been cursed with being genetically embedded with sin and a sinful nature. The current worldview is that homosexuality and multiple sexual orientations come from nature, and not nurture. This viewpoint is correct in that it is human nature to sin and seek out one’s own selfish desire. However, No one is prescribing a remedy for this sin. “Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 15:34) What the world has done is celebrated this sin and deceive youth through their much-wanted desire for acceptance and identity. There is a copious amount of research out there, along with world definitions of each orientation, and a call for acceptance of others’ orientations. There is also the other side of the argument and the fundamental truths that come from the word of God. Various resources are available to help youth leaders, teachers, parents and pastors to have a higher understanding of this cultural issue and the solutions and treatments available for youth struggling in this area. Spiritual leaders in the home, church, and schools ought to be prepared to teach on these topics readily, since this world, in which many youth are daily immersed, will readily present its own point of view with utter