Experts, activists, and girl bosses of the nuclear apocalypse: feminisms in security discourse

Having long been regarded as irrelevant to the high politics of foreign affairs, feminism and gender equality have in recent years gained increased attention in international security debates, including discussions about nuclear weapons policy. Several governments have adopted official feminist foreign policy postures, international security institutions have launched inquiries into gender equity and representation, and a myriad of security actors have enthusiastically embraced the language of women’s empowerment. Mapping the various modes of purported feminist practice on display in the nuclear policy field, we find that being “pro women” has become a sought-after rhetorical asset on both sides of the nuclear weapons debate. Reflecting wider trends in the corporate world, constituents of the nuclear weapons industry have increasingly embraced liberal feminist language and workplace diversity goals. These practices, we suggest, have helped challenge the perception of the nuclear industry as overly masculine, aiding recruitment to, and overall political legitimation of, the nuclear weapons enterprise. This development is significant because it functions to undercut the association between feminism and opposition to nuclear weapons, thus complicating efforts to advance arms control and disarmament through feminist interventions.