Navy recruit training as a gendering process

Abstract

This thesis studies Navy recruit training as a gendering process, and it examines female and male recruits' gendered experiences at Recruit Training Command (RTC) Great Lakes, Illinois. Gender is a prominent social construct for individuals and organizations. Both individuals and organizations are gendered and create gender. The phrase, "gendering process," refers to an organization's production of gender. The primary research question is: Can the military socialization experience of Navy recruit training be understood as a gendering process, specifically as a process for producing masculinity? A psychometric inventory of gender role aftributes, the Bem Sex Role Inventory (B SRI), was used to measure the difference in starting and ending recruits' self assessment of femininity and masculinity. Results from the BSRI indicated that Navy recruit training is a gendering process for both female and male recruits. Structured interviews with RTC officer and enlisted personnel provided additional insight into the gendering nature of the military socialization experience of Navy recruit training. These results offer a powerful, analytical lens for viewing and assessing such personnel processes as attrition, retention, promotion, and occupational selection for women and men in the Navy. They also provide a useful framework for understanding the status of women and men in the Navy.