Tuesday 6 March 2012

Where did we come from?


I was having coffee with a friend today and we got to talking about the label of “army wife”. We both agreed that while there have always been women married / partnered to men in the army, the label of army wife has really only become a common part of our vocabulary in the last few years.
It wasn’t until the 2nd posting with my husband that I first heard the term army wife. It was the first day of a new job and as I was chatting with my new colleagues I was asked if I had made any “army wife” friends. I remember needing to take a few seconds to comprehend the question (yes, I am blonde ;-p) because I had never heard anyone called that. Nowadays, there are people who introduce themselves as an army wife before they even say their own name!! And don’t get me started on the women who call themselves an army wife before their husbands have even finished Kapooka! LOL

In all serious, I am interested to know how, when and why it became so popular. Is it another thing we can blame on the Gen Y generation? Or is it society in general that likes labels? Or is it simply because we are all addicted to the TV show ‘Army Wives’? (And before I get any hate mail from the Gen Y’ers – I’m still in my 20’s and as much as I sometimes hate to admit it, I’m apart of Generation Y too!)

So please let me know your thoughts either by commenting below or by clicking here to leave a comment on my Facebook page. I’m really interested to hear what you all think!!

Until next time,
C.

7 comments:

  1. Army Wife and WAG oh my god they do my head in! It could just be me but every time I hear those terms I have visions of Paris Hilton wannabes thinking that men in cams are the latest fashion accessory and a golden ticket to the big $$. Don't get me wrong, I KNOW the majority of women married to men in the defence forces are not like that at all. But,there does seem to be a growing population among the spouses that are really keen to make an identity out of the term.... a nice segue into rank wearing don't you think?
    The other thing that does my head in are those stupid, American created 'Army Wife' picture things with all their pink and shitty love hearts. Like we are somehow a better/stronger type of woman because of our partner's chosen career...

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  2. Why does it matter so much if women call themselves Army Wives before their partners finish Kapooka? I personally hate the term and being labelled as something just because of something that my partner does gets the feminist fired up in me.
    I understand if your partner is at Kapooka he's a Recruit. But really, why does it bother other women so much that Recruit's partners call themselves an Army Wife? Is there some stage where you become a 'qualified' Army Wife, or more of an 'Army Wife' just because your PARTNER is posted to a unit?
    I think it's lovely that they are so proud of their partners and if they want to slap that label on themselves who cares? Who are you to judge them?
    It's shit whenever partners are away, whether they are overseas, out bush for a week or at Kapooka for 12 weeks!
    Cut everybody some slack, it's so easy to be nice to new partners and give them advice, rather than put shit on them. I'm sure you had absolutely no idea at the very start of your relationship with your husband, or when he first joined, so instead of laughing at these women or getting angry at these new partners over something as petty as when it is 'appropriate' to use the term Army Wife, why don't you put your energy into being supportive. Being nice feels better than being judgemental and rude.

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    1. Concrete is issued after Kapooka - Did you get some in your goodie bag, if not Bunnings has plenty.

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    2. If my husband was studying medicine at uni, I would think it would be a bit weird if I called myself a doctors wife.

      This post isn't meant to be a stab at people who call themselves army wives. That would be a tad contradicting seeing how my blog is titled "just another army wife blog" and my profile name is "Aussie Army Wife". I'm keen to know how, when and why the label army wife became so popular and like an above comment said, why is it now almost like a fashion accessory?

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    3. nothing rude there..... just asking for opinions...and I agree - you are not a doctors wife until he has graduated, or a teachers wife, or a nurses wife etc etc...

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  3. I don't see "Army Wife" as my status, but rather as my commitment not just to my husband, but also to my children. When I met my husband, I was serving in the ARA myself, so I wasn't an Army Wife, I was a soldier too. I was an Army brat too, so I know no different than this life of postings, bush trips, mess functions, formalities, and of course, deployments. Personally, I would rather women identify with being an Army Wife than thinking that they are entitled to wear the same rank as their spouses and receive the same courtesies. To me, it's equalising.

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  4. I have heard the term for at least ten years.Maybe saying ' Im the wife of a guy training to be a solider' is too much of a mouthful?

    Either way, I have never and will never call myself an army wife.

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