TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2013//
TI  - Constructing soldiers from boys in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
JO  - Men and masculinities
A1  - Trenholm, Jill
A1  - Olsson, Pia
A1  - Blomqvist, Martha
A1  - Ahlberg, Beth Maina
SP  - 203
EP  - 227
VL  - 16
IS  - 2
N2  - 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 "militarized masculinity"; a rigid set of stereotypical hypermasculinized behaviors promoting dominance by violating, sexually and otherwise, the subordinate "other." 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>
LA  - en
SN  - 1097-184X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1097184X12470113
ID  - ref1
ER  -