Men Refusing to be Violent: Manliness and Military Conscientious Objection, 1914 to the Present Day

This is an international collection of essays on gender and conflict. The chapter breaks new ground by exploring the history of men's military conscientious objection in the UK. It focuses upon two periods,: the First World War and the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. In both timescapes the chapter considers the perception and treatment of objectors, reflecting upon ideas about gender and, in particular, about men, manliness, aggression and violence. In doing so, this chapter significantly develops my previous work on gender and objection in terms of the historical periods considered and the theory advanced. It also marks and entirely new venture, as UK military conscientious objection in recent times has barely been studied and has never been subjected to a gender analysis. Additionally, for the first time, this chapter links together three seemingly separate strands of my research; namely, my work on conscientious objection, gendered violence and state power.