Creating a (gendered?) military identity: The Women's Auxiliary Air Force in Great Britain in the Second World War

This article engages with the debate regarding the effect on gender relatio ns of women's participation in the Second World War. It uses wartime repres entations of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), and the personal testi mony of former members of the service to test the so-called 'double helix' model of gender relations. Focusing on two key areas in which wartime gende r difference was negotiated-women's role as workers, and their adoption of military uniform-it considers the ways in which they constructed their self -identity as uniquely integrated members of a military service. The evidenc e presented suggests that analysis of women's experiences based purely on t heir gender is inadequate, and shows that the military context provided a d ifferent framework within which women's identity and status operated.