"A soldier is the test and proof of manhood, but when you have women in the military you transgress that line," she said.
Academic feminists often gloss over women in the military, as they are typically of different socioeconomic classes, Cowan said. Women that enlist in the military are generally from lower-income homes and tend to have conservative values, Cowan said. When feminists study women in the military, they often focus on the officers, who are a smaller, more elite group, and as a result miss the "very different" experiences of women of lower military rank, Cowan said.
Cowan said that she was a bit "riled up" about this disconnect between modern academic feminists and the role of women in the military.
"I think the work I'm doing as a woman, as a feminist, as a military woman, is important," she said. "I think that when I insist that I am taken seriously in the military, it is important."
For women of lower socioeconomic status, the military serves as a vehicle for upward social and economic mobility, according to Cowan.
One can join the military without a high school diploma and is then housed, fed and given the opportunity to pursue a college education, Cowan said. She added that the military is also a helpful mechanism for women with children, as some benefits from the GI Bill extend to the families of veterans.
Cowan, who comes from a military family, joined the Air Force Reserve four and a half years ago. A double major in women and gender studies and biology, she serves as a medical administrator in the Air Force and reports to a base in western Massachusetts one weekend each month.
"It can be rough," Cowan said. "I love it, but you do have to stay awake for 24 hours sometimes, you get shot at and you don't always get paid as much as people on the outside."
According to Cowan, she enlisted in the military because she grew up valuing military service to her country. Her decision always seemed reasonable, she added, despite many warnings against it.
Cowan attributed the common assumption that the military is not suitable for women to high rates of sexual assault and harassment in the armed forces. Cowan found through her research, however, that the percentage of women that experienced sexual assault in the military is similar to the rate of sexual assault on college campuses. She also said that sexual assault educational and prevention programs in the military appear to be working, as the number of women victimized by sexual assault is gradually decreasing.
Serving in the military erases ideas of class and race and evokes ideas of courage, strength and fortitude, Cowan said.
"People look at me differently when I put on my uniform," Cowan said.
Audience member Shannon Hextrum '09 supported Cowan's attempt to address the gap in feminist studies.
"I completely agree with Jane's perspective of uniting academia with working-class women doing feminist things," Hextrum said. "There is a huge disconnect, I think, and we can't really get change in gender equality if we sit in an ivory tower and the vast majority of America is from a different class, and we can't reach them."
Although Cowan plans to enroll in medical school after graduating from the College, she said she will continue to serve in the military because it gives her a great sense of belonging.
"Even if I never deploy again, I can say I am a veteran," Cowan said.
