Abject Masculinity and the Military: Articulating a Fulcrum of Struggle and Change

Numerous researchers over the past 20 years have observed that military training promotes hyper-masculine qualities such as toughness, stoicism, and aggressiveness in order to prepare soldiers for combat, and inculcate values of selfless sacrifice for the group. Against the backdrop of these masculine military norms, Veterans who experience stressors such as mental health issues, injury or illness-related incapacity, or difficulties transitioning to civilian life may experience their challenges as a collapse "from hero to zero," into the shamed or abject identity of " weak," "unfit," or "failed"-a fall from masculine grace. Using evidence from the literature and from a critical narrative analysis of the personal accounts of 15 veterans across 3 data sources, we tentatively suggest that the struggle against a shamed or abject identity appears as a unifying theme and possible critical driver across a variety of mental health and adjustment challenges facing military personnel and veterans. Whether in PTSD, substance use, or low treatment access, this point of convergence concentrates the complexity of masculine role pressures around a need to reaffirm status as men, with agency over self and world, and stands in negative contrast with former identification with an idealized military (or a hegemonic) masculinity. We conclude by suggesting specific strategies for culturally (gender) safe and competent practice for professionals and program designers working with this population.