There is an impressive history of women’s opposition to war but, as in almost every issue treated in this book, there is also considerable ambiguity. Not all women have opposed war. In this chapter, we’ll look first at that ambiguity and suggest some reasons for it. Then we’ll consider some of the classic literature written by women against war; again, ambiguities will be noted both in that literature and in critiques of it. In the last section, we’ll review feminist literature that extends the discussion of peace beyond the cessation of war to the environment of family and community.

Women’s support of war

Women have often supported war, sometimes actively cheering the fight on, sometimes passively accepting that they have no real choice but to support their men in a decision for which many of them have had similarly little choice. The allure of nationalistic patriotism captivates women as well as men. Although, until very recently, women could not participate in combat, they have struggled with the “honor” of becoming Gold Star Mothers.