From Naturalisation To Sidestreaming How The Dutch Military’s Online Recruitment Shapes Masculinity,
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2025-08-21
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en
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Abstract
Including women in security operations has positive effects, yet women are underrepresented
in apparatuses like the military. Therefore, this study examined connections between gender
and militarism as a source of these gender integration issues. Combining gender studies,
military studies, and organisational psychology, the research focussed on how the Dutch
military constructs definitions of masculinity and femininity within its onilne recruitment page.
These constructs were contrasted to the larger context of the Dutch military organisation by
examining other online publications on gender, recruitment requirements, and diversity. Here,
I used website analysis and discourse analysis. Through text and image, the Dutch military
attempts to disconnect masculinity from militarism in its recruitment page to naturalise
women in the force. However, subtle nuances in the presentation of the recruitment page and
the other online publications delegate women to specialised places within the military.
Thereby the Dutch military case reveals how gender may not be treated uniformly across one
organisation and how equality in representation does not necessarily dismantle deeper
gendered hierarchies. I suggest future research to explore the origins of this organisational
mismatch and to investigate the long-term consequences of militaries’ integration strategies
for the inclusion of women in the military.
Key Terms: gender, masculinity, femininity, military, organisational psychology, diversity
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen