Engendering two solitudes? Media representations of women in combat in Quebec and the rest of Canada. (December 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chapman (née Carrier), Krystel; Eichler, Maya
• Is Part Of: International journal. Volume 69:Number 4(2014)
• Page Start: 594
• Page End: 611
• Publication Date: 2014-12
• Subjects: Canadian foreign policy -- two solitudes -- gender -- women in combat -- media coverage -- Quebec -- female soldiers -- Canadian Armed Forces; World politics -- Periodicals; Canada -- Foreign relations -- Periodicals; 327.05
• DOI: 10.1177/0020702014543708
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0020-7020

Abstract

This article brings gender into the two-solitudes debate in Canadian foreign and defence policy by analyzing English- and French-Canadian newspaper coverage of women in combat in Afghanistan. We argue that there are no "two solitudes"—no national divisions are apparent between Quebec and the rest of Canada (ROC) when it comes to media representations of women in combat. Our findings confirm what other scholars have recently argued, which is that differences between the two solitudes on issues of defence policy may be less significant than often stated. The narrative of female combat soldiers presented in the media helps construct a pan-Canadian identity around the idea of Canada's progressiveness on military gender integration. We also found that the extent to which the death of a female combat soldier received media attention was largely based on her origin from Quebec or the ROC. These differences lead us to conclude that a selective heroization of soldiers on the basis of their origins affects Canadian media coverage of the war.