Making military and Veteran women (in)visible: The continuity of gendered experiences in military-to-civilian transition

LAY SUMMARY This study explores how gender and sex shape the military-to-civilian transition (MCT) for women. Thirty-three Canadian women Veterans were interviewed about their military service and post-military life. MCT research often emphasizes discontinuities between military and civilian life, but women's accounts highlight continuities in gendered experiences. Military women are expected to fit the male norm and masculine ideal of the military member during service, but they are rarely recognized as Veterans after service. Women experience invisibility as military member and Veterans and simultaneously hypervisibility as (ex)military women who do not fit military or civilian gender norms. Gendered expectations of women as spouses and mothers exert an undue burden on them as serving members and as Veterans undergoing MCT. Women encounter care and support systems set up on the normative assumption of the military and Veteran man supported by a female spouse. The study findings point to a needed re-design of military and Veteran systems to remove sex and gender biases and better respond to the sex- and gender-specific MCT needs of women. Introduction: This study explores how gender and sex shape the military-to-civilian transition (MCT) of women. Methods: Semi-structured, in-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted with Canadian women Veterans. Results: Thirty-three women who served in the Canadian Armed Forces and since released or retired participated in the study. Participants had heterogeneous military service backgrounds but were fairly homogeneous in terms of their identity backgrounds (cisgender, and primarily White and heterosexual). More than half had a present or past relationship with a military or ex-military member. Discussion: Whereas the MCT literature tends to emphasize discontinuities between military and civilian life, women's accounts highlight continuities in gendered experiences. Women are expected to fit the male norm and masculine ideal of the military member during service, but they are rarely recognized as Veterans after service. Women experience invisibility as military members and Veterans and simultaneously hypervisibility as (ex-)military women who do not fit military or civilian gender norms. Moreover, gendered caregiving expectations are placed on them as spouses and mothers during and after service, making it hard to balance military work and family life or to focus on their MCT. Women encounter care and support systems set up on the normative assumption of the military and Veteran man supported by a female spouse. Study findings point to a needed redesign of military and Veteran systems to remove sex and gender biases and better respond to the sex- and gender-specific MCT needs of women.