Homecoming as a Gendered Practice in Danish Military Families

Abstract

This article explores the complicated process of post-deployment homecoming in military families in Denmark. Based on qualitative interviews with spouses and children of formerly deployed soldiers, the article analyses some of the main challenges related to homecoming and military-to-family transitions in military families. It illuminates how deployment affects family practices and social relations by especially focusing on gender equality, fatherhood, and masculinity. Based on interviews with spouses and children, the article outlines three masculinity positions available to Danish homecoming veterans: gender equality masculinities, militarized masculinities, and troubled masculinities.