Before World War II, the Army was a highly male-dominated environment presented as a masculine effort to participate in. “The military consistently depicted its [soldiers as] men [who were] white, straight, cissexual, physically well-built, and emblematic of white, middle class norms and values” - (Brandon Thomas Locke, “The Military-Masculinity Complex: Hegemonic Masculinity and the United States Armed Forces, 1940-1963”). |
(Courtesy of Army Nurse Corps Association)
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(Courtesy of Pritzker Military Museum & Library)
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(Courtesy of Pritzker Military Museum & Library)
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Occasionally, the Army used women in “gender-appropriate”, non-official roles, such as the camp follower, which involved cooking and performing chores for soldiers. "There weren't many official initiatives to include women in the Army until the Spanish-American War, when female nurses were contracted by the Army to serve." -Personal Interview with U.S Army Women's Museum Archivist, Ali Kolleda.
The Army Nurse Corps (ANC) was established in 1901 as part of the U.S. Army Medical Department. However, these nurses weren't awarded the same rank, pay, or benefits bestowed upon male soldiers. Furthermore, female civilians deployed overseas in World War I had to acquire their own food and quarters and did not receive any legal protection or medical care. The Army was a man’s place, and women weren't rewarded for their efforts in assisting it. |