Bronzed, buffed and tattooed: the new brand of soldier shaped and shipped by popular culture

Paper

Gehrmann, Richard and Smith, Heather. 2013. "Bronzed, buffed and tattooed: the new brand of soldier shaped and shipped by popular culture." Mountfort, Paul (ed.) 4th Annual Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand Conference (PopCAANZ 2013). Brisbane, Australia 24 - 26 Jun 2013 Auckland, New Zealand.
Paper/Presentation Title

Bronzed, buffed and tattooed: the new brand of soldier shaped and shipped by popular culture

Presentation TypePaper
AuthorsGehrmann, Richard (Author) and Smith, Heather (Author)
EditorsMountfort, Paul
Journal or Proceedings TitleProceedings of the 4th Annual Conference of the Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand (PopCAANZ 2013)
ERA Conference ID51027
Number of Pages9
Year2013
Place of PublicationAuckland, New Zealand
ISBN9780646915616
Web Address (URL) of Paperhttp://popcaanz.com/conferenceproceedings_2013/Gender_GehrmannSmith_BronzedBuffed.pdf
Conference/Event4th Annual Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand Conference (PopCAANZ 2013)
Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand Annual International Conference
Event Details
4th Annual Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand Conference (PopCAANZ 2013)
Event Date
24 to end of 26 Jun 2013
Event Location
Brisbane, Australia
Event Details
Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand Annual International Conference
PopCAANZ
Abstract

A new brand of soldier is emerging from today's popular culture milieu, and this challenges how we perceive, understand and define the modern-day professional soldier. Images of the sculpted physique,often tanned and stenciled, adorn the screen and page with increasing frequency from 'Command' in popular television show Biggest Loser
to the hyper-masculine characters in The Hurt Locker. This paper will examine the evolving 'brand' of the soldier and the parallel wave of bronzed, buffed and tattooed lookalikes. While a growing percentage of soldiers are female and while physical fitness is valued by female
soldiers and male soldiers, masculine images dominate the
representation of the soldier, and tensions arise when women appear to transgress this space. We explore examples of gender stereotypes and military branding in contemporary popular culture, including the response to the death of New Zealand soldier Jacinda Baker in 2012, and the public image of Australian Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith.

Keywordsmasculinity; military; female soldier; branding; Afghanistan War
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020430302. Australian history
430320. New Zealand history
470299. Cultural studies not elsewhere classified
Public Notes

c. Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand.

Byline AffiliationsSchool of Humanities and Communication
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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