In our contemporary society, feminists have been in the spotlight since the significant liberation movements of women have paved the way for girls and women and made the word “feminism” a universal phenomenon. Traditionally, “feminism” is often associated with a group of women and girls organizing strong protests or strikes for gender equality, women's rights, and fighting against discrimination. Notwithstanding that fact, a novel aspect of the role and status of military wives has recently been shed light on, giving a far more profound insight into “feminism”.
Historically, the spouses of men in the Armed Forces were made to become “rears” of their men. This means they were supposed to shoulder the burden of their families such as housework, children, and sometimes financial problems so that servicemen would lavish their attention on their proud occupations. The so-called recipe or a set of rules for military wives was so popular that people dwelled on a fixed system of social positions of these wives and their husbands, making wives virtually completely dependent on their life partners. Furthermore, they must be able to manage split loyalties. They suffered from the exacerbating stress of the reality of the composition of their marital relationships that they bore in silence, following many different mental health issues. Most importantly, they had to take the responsibility of RRE which symbolizes raising, rearing, and educating their children by themselves. The restricted circulation of an exhausting life with the housework, husbands, and children rendered the spouse of the men in the Armed Forces experience a disenfranchised existence.
Besides, it is undeniable that this lifestyle limited their opportunities for employment. It has been stated by Allyson Sherman Grossman that the likelihood of wives of military men working outside was considerably lower than that of wives of civilians in the 1970s. More specifically, the survey in 1981 showed that in 1970, the labor force participation rate stood at approximately 30.5 and this figure was significantly lower than that of civilian wives which was 41.2 at that time. As a consequence, it is obvious that the spouse had to bear with the repetitively dependent life.
Nevertheless, wives of military servicemen are new radical feminists. Unlike the usual feminists, they have fought against their plight and the popular discrimination between military wives and civilian wives. Despite advocating conformity, they made an effort to step into the line with other wives and be a part of a proud community. They have learned that the role and status of military wives are indispensable and managed to combine the military prototype and behavior expected at social functions such as coffees, brunches, teas, formal and official luncheons, dinners, receptions, and receiving lines, flag courtesy, and reviews. As a result of the desire of being a part of the community, labor force activity among armed service wives skyrocketed as rapidly-rising prices. Also, their efforts have been admired by virtue of the greater societal acceptance of working wives and mothers.
Clearly, although military wives had no organized protest or strike against discrimination like other feminists, they are still well-acclaimed feminists making a considerable contribution to the Women Liberation Movement since they have struggled to gain the public admiration and open-minded thoughts and more importantly, their success of feminism reflects the process of overcoming their self and hardships.