| Summary: | For a long time the military arena has been a context that is male-dominated and which even has been described as the arena that produces ideal forms of masculinity. This study examines the conditions for the women who choose to join the male-dominated military arena. The purpose of the study was to provide knowledge about womens experiences from basic military education in Sweden through a gender perspective. And more specifically, give insight into how women who completed education relate to expectations associated with being women and expectations associated with the role of the soldier. Central questions were created and these concerned how women perceived the role of the soldier, the extent to which they perceived gender segregation practices and the strategies used by women to deal with the male-dominated education and its possible gender segregation processes. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with five women who had complete basic military education in Sweden. A theoretical framework was created that contained theories about gender, gender power systems, women's strategies in male dominated professions, gender segregation processes, gender regimes and hegemonic masculinity. Previous research on women's conditions and experiences in the military indicates that women face opposition and exclusion, while women's presence at the same time has challenged discourses about femininity and the normative soldier. The results from the studie pointed out that the women perceived the military arena as a place where they were given the opportunity to do gender in new ways, while highlighting different problem areas during the education. These included that women were not expected to perform in the same degree as men and that the commanders had little understanding of specific female needs or questions.
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