The Matrix of Domination

Abstract

Before anyone should consider military service, they should be ready to handle the projection of others' insecurities and biases onto them from privileged positions. There is an emphasis placed on those who volunteer to serve their country. Nevertheless, there continues to be a flagrant show of hatred and prejudicial attitudes towards Black women. White men have been the prototype for soldiers for so long that any connection to Blackness and womanhood is insulting. The lack of respect for Black woman leadership also shows how deeply white maleness, anti-Blackness, misogyny, hegemonic masculinity, heteropatriarchy, and structural whiteness centers around leadership and as the standard of authority and influence over others. This chapter will deduce that the author, a Black woman, holds a unique perspective of how she enacted her leadership and how her experiences share certain commonalities of collective insight with other Black women across the armed forces.