What do gender- sensitive lenses tell us about war? War depends on telling gendered war stories based in a logic of protection, and on silencing or deligitimizing stories that challenge them

Where are the women? If women are present in the LOTR, their roles tend to be minor

What work is masculinity doing? Strategies and relationships among the Fellowship are highly masculinized Members are all unmarried, and the group is hierarchically structured

How can the “hero” story be challenged? The story of the LOTR is told from Frodo’s perspective, but what about other narratives which might be “messier” than Frodo’s view?

Hobbits illustrate how gendered and hierarchical relationships can perpetuate insecurity and inequality for feminized “dependents”

People who are not recognized as important actually do influence key events in significant ways Eowyn and Merry emerge as unexpected heroes in the Battle of Pelennor Fields

Dehumanizing or feminizing enemies allows for projecting of dominating relationships onto the international relations between groups

World War 1 was seen as a cure for society’s ills and a way to promote positive masculine values

Masculinized, militarized nationalism promoted beliefs that war would be quick and easy because “our men” were superior

“Just warriors” were called on to defend defenseless women and children (“beautiful souls”) from bad guys (barbaric Germans)

The decision of potential recruits whether or not to enlist was determined by their “manliness”

Jus ad bellum (just reasons) Requires that war be fought only for reasons characterized by right intention, just cause, right authority, proportionality of ends, and for last resort Jus in bello (just conduct) Requires that war be conducted only when noncombatants are insured immunity, and when wars do more good than harm

A redefinition of “reasonable chance of success” should include Justice in the longer term during and after war

Sanctions imposed before the war were unjustly aimed at civilian targets Post-war civil strife was the opposite of a feminist understanding of what “success” in Iraq would look like