@article{ref1,
title="Constructing soldiers from boys in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo",
journal="Men and masculinities",
year="2013",
author="Trenholm, Jill and Olsson, Pia and Blomqvist, Martha and Ahlberg, Beth Maina",
volume="16",
number="2",
pages="203-227",
abstract="This study is part of an ethnography focusing on war rape in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where child soldiers are both victims and perpetrators of violence. Twelve ex-child soldier boys, aged thirteen to eighteen years, from a reintegration facility were interviewed about their soldiering experiences and their perspectives on sexual violence. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Conceptual frameworks of militarized masculine identity and gender-based violence guided the process. Results revealed the systematic and violent construction of children into soldiers, inculcating a &quot;militarized masculinity&quot;; a rigid set of stereotypical hypermasculinized behaviors promoting dominance by violating, sexually and otherwise, the subordinate &quot;other.&quot; This was achieved through terrorizing/coercing, use of indigenous preparations, substance abuse, and forbidden reflection. This article presents a more contextualized complex view of the violent perpetrator whose behaviors are a manifestation of the modes and mechanisms in which society has constructed/reconstructed gender, ethnicity, and class, and the power dynamics therein.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1097-184X",
doi="10.1177/1097184X12470113",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1097184X12470113"
}