Creating G.I. Jane

Leisa D. Meyer is assistant professor of history at the College of William and Mary.

Meyer's study of the creation of the Women's Army Corps provides a backdrop against which to read today's headlines detailing sexual misconduct in the military... Meyer offers a richly textured, theoretically informed account of that debate, focusing on the complex and often contradictory arguments articulated by both supporters and opponents of the creation of a formal presence for women in the military... Race and racial politics played an equally significant part in the creation of the WASC, and Meyer brings her considerable skills to an analysis of the lengths to which the military went to avoid undermining established racial as well as sexual systems. Choice A powerful indictment of the sexism that dominates the military. It is also a fascinating look at the ways in which women insisted upon their right to serve their country. Bay Area Reporter Compelling. Gives us important insights into the complex sexual double standards that control our current debate. Lambda Book Report A meticulously researched, carefully organized, and intelligently presented study of social issues surrounding the Women's Army Corps in the 1940s. The Lesbian Review of Books

• Acknowledgments Prologue 1. "What Has Become of the Manhood of America?": Creating a Woman's Army 2. "Ain't Misbehavin'"? The Slander Campaign Against the WAC 3. The WAC Strikes Back: Constructing the "Respectable" Female Soldier 4. "Women's Work" and Resistance in the WAC: Kitchen Police, Secretaries, and Sitdown Strikes 5. Protecting Whom? Regulating Sexuality in the Army and the WAC 6. "I Want a Man!": Pleasure and Danger in the Women's Corps 7.The "Lesbian Threat" Epilogue Appendix 1. Meyer Oral History Questionnaire Appendix 2. Discussion of Sources Notes Index