Online

Edwards, Liam Thomas

History

2021

M.A.

This research will focus on the sexual misconduct of the United States military following the end of the Second World War in the Korean peninsula, Japan, and the Philippines. In this research, I will argue that the United States military engaged in a system of widespread sexual misconduct in the Pacific following the conclusion of the Second World War. Its success in distancing the institution from this behavior in the historical record and historical memory has much to do with its place in the international system today. The hegemonic power that the United States represents on the world stage has allowed for, and contributes to, repeated and institutionalized efforts at controlling the bodies of women across the world in the latter half of the 20th century. The topic of United States military sexual misconduct is relevant today as the gender dynamics and the social, racial, and national hierarchies that were instrumental in the practice of sexual assault of local women in the post-war era are still present in the United States military.