309P
United States Women Marines' Experiences and Perspectives about Coping with Service Life: A Phenomenological Study
Background and Purpose:
Women are expanding their numbers and roles in the United States military. Military women are reported to experience unique challenges related to their gender that affect their psychosocial well being and capacity for optimal performance, yet is under researched. Scholars have identified increased stressors as combat exposure, sexual trauma, gender harassment, and dual roles and argue the current experiences of military women warrant research to understand more fully the challenges they face and implications for their well being to improve support.
This study sought to explore the military experiences and perspectives of women serving on active duty in the United States Marine Corps. The purpose was to fill gaps in the current knowledge base and explore gender specific experiences and perspectives about stressors, coping behaviors, and sources of support within the traditional Marine Corps context.
Methods:
This qualitative design was developed using the assumptions of Interpretivism and Feminist Standpoint Theory. Fifteen in-depth, semi structured interviews were conducted with active duty women Marines aged 20-53 who had served for at least one year post basic training. The sample comprised 11 enlisted and 4 officer women ranging in service time from 1.5 to 34 years. The sample consisted of 8 Caucasian, 4 Hispanic, 2 African American, and 1 Native American. More than half of the sample had attended college. Ten participants were married, 9 were mothers and 2 were pregnant. Thirteen participants had not participated in a combat support deployment. Participants were recruited with flyers posted in pre-approved command areas. Interviews were recorded and elicited participants' lived experiences and perspectives about their Marine Corps service. Data were transcribed and analyzed manually and coded thematically, guided by the modified Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen phenomenological method.
Findings:
Data analysis revealed five themes and sub-themes to describe the participants' lived Marine Corps service experiences. The participants voiced challenges related to being outnumbered by men while faced with degraded perspectives and harder work related to their status as women in a male-dominated environment under constant scrutiny. Their experiences were accompanied by various struggles to negotiate the tension between acknowledging their sense of womanhood while adapting to the changing standards to be Marines. These struggles were attributed to chronic gender harassment and sexual harassment experiences. The participants employed various positive and negative coping strategies to navigate day to day challenges. They articulated supportive leadership qualities they found helpful as well as informal sources of support and a desire for same gender mentoring to improve their well being in their environment.
Conclusion and Implications:
Findings highlight the importance of understanding the standpoint of women in the context of their military service to consider ways to improve support, identify strengths, and remove help seeking barriers.
Disclaimer: "The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, or the United States Government."