Women at the Citadel: Masculinity, Gender, and Change
This essay analyzes Susan Faludi's article "The Naked Citadel" to argue that the admission of women to the Citadel military school does more than challenge misogynist attitudes — it reveals that the institution functions as a refuge from broader society's rigid expectations of masculinity. Drawing on Faludi's vignettes about Shannon Faulkner's enrollment and life inside the Citadel, the paper examines how Western gender role revisions have created confusion around masculinity, and how the presence of women forces male cadets to confront and potentially revise their understanding of gender identity and societal pressures.
- Introduction: Women and the Question of Masculinity: Women's presence prompts Citadel men to reconsider masculinity
- Western Society and Shifting Gender Roles: Decades of gender change create masculine identity confusion
- Susan Faludi's Portrait of the Citadel: Faludi's vignettes depict violence, hierarchy, and harassment
- The Citadel as a Refuge from Society: Citadel functions as refuge from societal masculine expectations
- How Women Challenge Misogyny and Masculinity at the Citadel: Women expose flaws in cadets' misogynist belief systems
- Conclusion: Lessons for Society: Citadel lessons extend to broader social transformation
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper moves beyond a surface reading of misogyny to argue a more nuanced claim: that resistance to women at the Citadel reflects a desire to escape society's rigid masculinity expectations, not just hatred of women.
- It uses direct quotation from Faludi and a secondary source (the Mother Jones interview) to anchor its analytical claims in textual evidence.
- The concluding paragraph ties the institution's dynamics back to broader social implications, giving the argument wider relevance beyond the specific case study.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates analytical reframing — taking an apparent simple explanation (cadets resist women out of misogyny) and complicating it with a more layered interpretation (cadets resist women because their sanctuary from societal masculine pressures is threatened). This technique, common in literary and cultural analysis, shows that evidence can support multiple interpretations and that deeper readings produce more compelling arguments.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens by introducing its central argument about the Citadel as a masculine refuge. It then provides social context through a discussion of shifting Western gender roles before summarizing Faludi's article. The body paragraphs develop the "refuge" thesis and the positive role women's presence can play. The essay closes with a brief conclusion that connects the institutional case to wider society. The structure is straightforward and well-suited to a short analytical essay at the undergraduate level.
Introduction: Women and the Question of Masculinity
The presence of women at the Citadel has provided the men of the school with an opportunity to reflect on their attitudes toward masculinity and gender equality. In her article "The Naked Citadel," Susan Faludi describes the intense and negative reaction of Citadel cadets to the enrollment of women in the institution. It is through the presence of women that the men of the institution have an opportunity to begin to understand that the Citadel has provided them with an environment free of many of the larger society's expectations of masculinity. As such, the presence of women in the Citadel reveals that the cadets' reactions against women are not necessarily sparked only by misogynist attitudes. This rejection of women is sparked largely by a very real desire among these young cadets to be free of the influences and restrictions placed on them by a larger society that holds a narrow and rigid understanding of masculinity.
Western Society and Shifting Gender Roles
Western society has undergone a number of dramatic revisions of gender roles over the past several generations. Women have won the right to vote, they are increasingly employed outside the home, and are often seen in positions of political and economic power. One of the consequences of this change in gender roles is a great deal of confusion about the status of masculinity in society. Men are expected to be strong and steadfast; affection between men is often discouraged and seen as evidence of homosexuality.
Works Cited
Faludi, Susan. "The Naked Citadel." The New Yorker, 5 Sept. 1994.
Halpern, Sue. "Susan Faludi: the Mother Jones Interview." Mother Jones, Sept./Oct. 1999.
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