The persistent effects of reintegration and militarization on female Veteran identity: A narrative inquiry study
Abstract:Reintegration presents significant challenges for female Veterans after their military service ends. This qualitative narrative inquiry study illuminates these difficulties and provides profound insight into how this life-changing transition, their liminal existences, their connections to militarization, and societal influences affect how these female Warriors see themselves and/or the roles they fulfill in society. Through a conceptual integral framework of Rogers's (1959) humanistic personality theory and Stryker's (1968) social psychology identity theory, this study uses narrative and stories to explore the lived experiences of thirteen female Veterans from various branches of the United States Military. Semi-structured interviews, vignettes, and field notes evoked deeper insights into how they make meaning of their identities after reintegration. Eight of the thirteen individual narratives, detailing the cycle of the participants' (defined in this study as Warriors) lives, are presented, and the findings are synthesized. Mishler's (1995) typology was used to analyze the data and 'story' the Warriors' worlds. Five themes and numerous thematic meaning units created the plotline of the analysis. They highlighted the Warriors' difficulties in understanding themselves in the face of sexism, assimilation, misogyny, hegemonic enculturation, gender-based discrimination, the spectrum of sexual violence, military sexual trauma, and institutional betrayal. Also underscored were the influences of cultural expectations and idealized gender roles. The study's most pivotal findings revealed that, although female Veterans face horrific conditions while serving their country, those with high percentages of self-identified militarization struggle the most with reintegration and continue to live by the deep-seated ideology of the patriarchal military society. The discussion concludes with recommendations and suggestions for a new approach to studying Veteran populations.