What Have I Accomplished So Far?

Sometimes, in the messiness of research and writing, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s actually been done. The work is so often invisible—thinking, reading, unlearning, resisting, rethinking. So this is a moment to pause and name what I’ve already accomplished in this project. It’s not a final report, but a kind of feminist check-in with myself.

🟣 I’ve Defined My Research Question

I’m asking: How does the systematic exclusion of femininity in the Canadian Armed Forces impact its representation of service women?
This question didn’t come out of nowhere. It grew out of a long-standing discomfort with how institutional policies like the CDS 25% target promise progress without addressing the underlying gendered assumptions embedded in military culture. It’s not just about getting more women in uniform—it’s about what kinds of femininity are allowed to exist in those uniforms, and what gets erased in the process.

🟣 I’ve Grounded My Work in Feminist Theory

This project doesn’t aim for neutrality. It’s a feminist critique of institutional power. I’m thinking with scholars who have asked hard questions about visibility, power, embodiment, and resistance—especially in spaces that rely on control and uniformity. Feminist methodology reminds me that research is not just about findings; it’s also about positioning, ethics, and refusal.

🟣 I’ve Made My Motivation Visible

This project is personal. I’m not outside the systems I’m studying. I’ve experienced the silencing of care, emotion, and other expressions of femininity in professional and academic spaces, and I’m bringing that into the research. Feminist work requires that kind of honesty. I’ve started putting that into words—first in my project history, then through this blog.

🟣 I’ve Created This Blog as Method

This blog isn’t a side project—it’s part of my methodology. It’s where I reflect, wrestle, contradict myself, and hold space for questions that don’t have clear answers (yet). It’s also where I resist the pressure to make everything sound polished and academic before it’s ready. This space is my reminder that process matters.

🟣 I’ve Identified a Central Tension

The CDS 25% target has become a focal point for critique. It’s symbolic of the gap between policy and practice—between visibility and actual transformation. I’m not just tracking numbers; I’m tracing what gets excluded, what gets performed, and who gets to belong.

✳️ What’s Next

I’ll be moving into deeper engagement with feminist and critical military literature, drafting pieces of my methodology chapter, and continuing to write here as a way to think through the messiness. I also want to begin sketching out chapter themes soon—especially around discourse, representation, and resistance.