Gender as a Cause of War

In the last couple of decades, a number of historians have written histories that explore the ways that discourses of gender have shaped American engagement in conflict. A common thread that runs through much of this literature connects ideologies of “manhood” to debates, policies, and social practices that led to war and expansion. But does “gender” cause war? This essay is an attempt to formulate some useful responses to that question, drawing upon some of the scholarship that has opened new questions about masculinity, politics, and war. [Publisher]