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"A Woman in the Army is Still A Woman": Recruiting Women into the All-Volunteer Force
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to direct combat, hostile fire, or capture, and which allowed for the opening of thousands of new
positions to women.
Army recruitment materials of the 1980s promoted both intangible and tangible benefits,
but without as sharp a masculine edge as in the late 1970s. Masculine aspects are present, but more muted, and in one ad at least, open to women as well. Most of the ads in the series feature
men. In one, an Airborne Scout proclaims, “I found a road to college that’s making me feel exhilarated, exhausted and proud” and reflects on the qualities he needed, like “stamina, self-
assurance, and quick wits” to earn an Expert Infantryman’s Badge and get through Pathfinder’s School. In the other, a member of a Ranger battalion explains that “If you can succeed as a
Ranger, you’re bound to succeed in life,” because Rangers face mental challenges like overcoming fear, and they must train hard physically so that they can “move faster, go further,
work harder.” The female soldier in this series, SP4 Michelle Kowalski of Signal Intelligence, declares, “I thought I could test myself here. But I’ve practically reinvented myself.” The Army
offered a challenge and took her on an “inner journey to [her] independence,” letting her “grow up—all the way up—and find out what [she’s] made of.” Here, women, too, are given the
chance to “be all [they] can be,” and access to some traditionally masculine behaviors—independence, the chance to find out what one’s made of, to test and challenge oneself.
As noted earlier, two ads in my sample from the early 1970s seemed to be aimed
explicitly at women, and women were also pictured along with men in several ads, but in this ad,
for the first time, a woman is pictured alone, and the ad is similar to other ads featuring men. While Kowalski is feminized to the extent that she is clearly wearing makeup, in terms of the
ad’s content, as it relates to other ads in the campaign, she is not being put into some special or different category. From this point on, one or two ads in any particular series might show a
woman instead of a man, but with basically the same message or theme. While women aren’t pictured nearly as frequently as men, when they do appear, they seem to be a legitimate part of
the service.
During the 1990s, many ads combined a textual emphasis on civilian careers, educational
benefits, or self-development with explicitly military visual references, such as camouflage-print backgrounds, weaponry, and soldiers in battle dress. One such ad claims, “before you start your
career, it pays to learn the ropes” and goes on to link attributes sought by employers to those developed in the Army. The accompanying picture is of several soldiers dangling on ropes
hanging from a helicopter. Another asks, “can you find the $25,000 hidden in this picture,” a
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to direct combat, hostile fire, or capture, and which allowed for the opening of thousands of new
positions to women.
Army recruitment materials of the 1980s promoted both intangible and tangible benefits,
but without as sharp a masculine edge as in the late 1970s. Masculine aspects are present, but
more muted, and in one ad at least, open to women as well. Most of the ads in the series feature
men. In one, an Airborne Scout proclaims, “I found a road to college that’s making me feel
exhilarated, exhausted and proud” and reflects on the qualities he needed, like “stamina, self-
assurance, and quick wits” to earn an Expert Infantryman’s Badge and get through Pathfinder’s
School. In the other, a member of a Ranger battalion explains that “If you can succeed as a
Ranger, you’re bound to succeed in life,” because Rangers face mental challenges like
overcoming fear, and they must train hard physically so that they can “move faster, go further,
work harder.” The female soldier in this series, SP4 Michelle Kowalski of Signal Intelligence,
declares, “I thought I could test myself here. But I’ve practically reinvented myself.” The Army
offered a challenge and took her on an “inner journey to [her] independence,” letting her “grow
up—all the way up—and find out what [she’s] made of.” Here, women, too, are given the
chance to “be all [they] can be,” and access to some traditionally masculine behaviors—
independence, the chance to find out what one’s made of, to test and challenge oneself.
As noted earlier, two ads in my sample from the early 1970s seemed to be aimed
explicitly at women, and women were also pictured along with men in several ads, but in this ad,
for the first time, a woman is pictured alone, and the ad is similar to other ads featuring men.
While Kowalski is feminized to the extent that she is clearly wearing makeup, in terms of the
ad’s content, as it relates to other ads in the campaign, she is not being put into some special or
different category. From this point on, one or two ads in any particular series might show a
woman instead of a man, but with basically the same message or theme. While women aren’t
pictured nearly as frequently as men, when they do appear, they seem to be a legitimate part of
the service.
During the 1990s, many ads combined a textual emphasis on civilian careers, educational
benefits, or self-development with explicitly military visual references, such as camouflage-print
backgrounds, weaponry, and soldiers in battle dress. One such ad claims, “before you start your
career, it pays to learn the ropes” and goes on to link attributes sought by employers to those
developed in the Army. The accompanying picture is of several soldiers dangling on ropes
hanging from a helicopter. Another asks, “can you find the $25,000 hidden in this picture,” a
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