Military Masculinity and the Travails of Transitioning: Disclosure in Social Media

Research suggests that the disclosure of struggles and the connection with sympathetic others are critical during periods of transition. Whereas disclosure has been studied in various contexts, the disclosure strategies of United States (US) veterans transitioning back into civil society has not been explored. Through a qualitative study with 15 veterans re-integrating into civil society, we find that the culture of hyper-masculinity learned and performed during military service leads to challenges to disclosure, or nondisclosure, post-service, negatively impacting how military veterans navigate the transition back into civil society. We explore the disclosure issues and strategies of veterans in both offline and online contexts, finding that veterans used online platforms to navigate the challenges limiting disclosure and connect with supportive resources. We conclude by introducing the concept of delayed disclosure-when people postpone making their struggles known in transition-and provide implications for policy, design and future work to help veterans manage their transitions.