Gendering the military past: Understanding heritage and security from a feminist perspective

This article showcases how a feminist perspective provides novel insights into the relations between military heritage/history and national security politics. We argue that analysing gender sexualities operate at heritage sites reveals these operations dis/encourage particular understandings of limit range acceptable protection policies. Two recent initiatives to preserve Cold War period in Sweden are examined: exhibits Air Force Museum Linköping redevelopment formerly sealed off compound Bungenäs, where bunkers have been remade exclusive summer homes. By combining international critical studies, we unpack material, affective embodied underpinnings produced sites. A key conclusion is way heritagization incorporates ‘naturalness’ binary heterosexuality makes conceptualizing without territory, or territory protection, inaccessible. The gendering emotions architectural spatial arrangements supports historical narratives privilege masculine reinforce taken-for-granted nativist community. analysis highlights restrict imaginaries; is, what conceivable as security.