"The Naked Citadel"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how in her article, "The Naked Citadel", Susan Faludi describes the intense and negative reaction of Citadel cadets to the enrollment of women in the institution. It looks at how it is through the presence of women at the Citadel that the men of the institution have an opportunity to begin to understand that the Citadel has provided them with an environment free of many of the larger society's expectations of masculinity. It discusses how the presence of women in the Citadel reveals that the cadets' reactions against women in the institution are not necessarily sparked only by misogynistic attitudes, but how this rejection of women is sparked by a very real desire for these young cadets to be free of the influences and restrictions placed on them by the larger society, which has a narrow and rigid understanding of masculinity.

From the Paper:

"The women of the Citadel have a great deal to teach the men of the Citadel. The presence of women at the Citadel can be a catalyst that forces the men at the Citadel to examine their institution, and their attitudes toward masculinity. Ultimately, the presence of women may provide these men with a forced opportunity to examine their understanding of masculinity. In this sense, the women at the Citadel provide the men in the same institution with an perhaps unwelcome opportunity to examine their role in society, and potentially make changes in their attitudes and behaviors."

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