Tara Moyer
Dr. Sharleen Mondal
ENG 314 OL: Literature and Gender
December 14, 2015
The Aftermath of War and Military Sexual Trauma in Helen Benedict’s Sand Queen
In Kirby Dick’s 2012 documentary film The Invisible War, he explores sexual assault in the United States military. Dick, K. (2012) interviews female veterans from multiple branches of the United States Armed Forces and documents the aftermath of their military sexual assaults. Within this documentary the survivors and advocates demand change to the way the military handles sexual harassment and sexual assault with the motto of “No crime should go unpunished.” In hopes to alleviate corruption it is thought by bypassing and forbidding the unit commanders to be involved with the prosecution, who often are either friends with perpetrator or are the perpetrator themselves. The Invisible War parallels Helen Benedict’s novel Sand Queen (2011) as the main character Kate, recalls similar experiences of the systemic corruption by the lack of physical and emotional support to an impartial justice system and failed investigation and prosecution of sexual abuse claims within the armed forces. While survivors experienced retaliation and forced expulsion from the service their perpetrators gained military advancements within their career verses prosecution and expulsion from the service. Women in the military are at high risk for exposure to traumatic events such as sexual harassment or sexual assault especially during times of war.
In Helen Benedict’s 2011 novel Sand Queen, she explores female soldiers on going daily sexual harassment and assault in the United States Armed forces and Iraqis diplomatic and racial downfall in the Iraq War. This story offers separate experiences of two women Kate, an American soldier, and Naema, an Iraqi in the Iraq War that parallel one another with their unique struggles of courage and love. Benedict uses the progression of Kate’s declining psychological state as she gradually unties as a reflection of her feelings in the aftermath of war and the sexual trauma she and others experienced while serving in the United States Armed Services. Kate struggled to reintegrate back into society and at home as she negotiated the psychological whiplash between war and peace between the expectations of a soldier abroad and those of a daughter, sister and girlfriend at home. This progression allowed Benedict to look at the morality of war and recognition of military sexual trauma and its long term effects on the mental health of female warriors.
The actual day-to-day experience of women soldiers in the armed forces like Kate often spend their deployments marginalized, feeling alienated, or outright threatened by their fellow soldiers. Women are often singled out as the weaker sex and more often than not are the victims of sexual assault, and harassment by fellow soldier and commanders. Military sexual trauma and the relentless sexual harassment can bring on a flood of mixed emotions including guilt or sometimes guilt that they don’t feel guilty that they face upon or after their assault can create symptoms of depression, anxiety or worse new onset Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or other psychological disorders as a result of their service. “And then I’m not me anymore. I’m a wing. One ragged blue wing, zigzagging torn and crooked across the long, black sky.” (p. 80) Kate feels alienated as a woman, all alone and left to forcefully fend for herself. She has lost all control and unable to fly solo like a flightless bird. Kate did not want to appear vulnerable or weak and felt if she reported her incident she would only appear to be a traitor and suffer more insult and retaliation by her fellow soldiers and commanders. She attempts to portray the epitomes of a brave soldier putting on a tough exterior as she handled things herself. She internalized her fears and her disgust with her fellow soldiers and commander verses blaming the perpetrators, she blamed herself for inviting and provoking this horrific physical assault. Kate is reminded of her father’s quotes and motto’s that she and her sister April used to find around the house. “Take responsibility for your actions. Don’t blame others for your mistakes. If you dig your own grave, you must lie in it.” (p. 97) Kate feels that she has dug her own grave for not being an exceptional soldier as she had failed at fighting her commander and fellow comrade off. She allowed them to take what belonged to her, her dignity and her mere feeling of safety. Her sense of self. “As for the rest of me, my soul or whatever you want to call it, that’s still flapping away in the sky.” (p. 95) Kate feels broken, all alone and shaken, her view of her band of brothers and sisters who she had once strongly believed that would protect her has now betrayed her and her trust. She now begins to questions her own religious convictions of Christianity and her expectations as a soldier, how can she lay her life down for her fellow soldiers or her commander that violated and betrayed her trust. She began to think that perhaps Tyler was right, maybe she didn’t belong there. Haunted and overcome by her numbing emotions and psychological devastation she feels that she has lost herself and who she is as a person and as a Christian, she feels like a complete failure. She has failed as a soldier and as a Christian through this violent act forced upon her.
Despite Kate’s overwhelming desire to break down she carried on like a brave soldier performing the duties that were expected of her and internalized her emotions, as far as she is concerned nothing ever happened. Several days had passed since the incident and her attempts to make each day a little better than the last still writhing in pain she and Yvette would go running before dawn to try and take her mind off of the incident. Third Eye had approached her after her morning run, asking her to follow her to the porta-johns. Kate stared at the porta-johns and painted a crossed them “Tits Brady is a cock-suckin sand queen. Sign if you’ve fucked her.” (p. 104) “Third Eye comes up beside me and stares at the list. All I can say, kiddo, is I warned you.” (p. 104) The derogatory term “Sand Queen” that is specifically a derivative from the army summarizes the degrading attitude that so many military men have toward military women. Do to the scarcity of women in the armed services men often focus on an otherwise unattractive woman who would not be the object of affection and attention in an ordinary civilian life. As Kate studied the list on the side of the porta-johns she saw one name in particular, Jimmy’s name appeared on this list and her heart sank. The one person she trusted and loved had betrayed her. Incredibly upset she made a phone call to her parents for moral support, support in which never came. “Be brave, my girl. Remember, we love you. God loves you. Make us proud.” (p. 105) Now feeling more alone, vulnerable and betrayed than ever she carried on just as a brave soldier should despite the betrayal of her God and her band of brothers and sisters. She began to turn away from her religious beliefs and convictions and her belief in her fellow soldiers and commanders. God and her band of brothers and sisters did not love her, if they could protect her and they allowed this happen. Kate felt anything but brave and proud for allowing this horrific act to take place.
Kate has unfortunately witnessed and experienced horrific events while being deployed in Iraq for example seeing her friend Yvette being killed, enduring countless hours of exhausting suicide missions, watching Iraqi prisoners taunting her with insects and exposing their private parts, daily sexual harassment, and most of all just losing herself in the hell of war. Numbed and hardened by the war the soldier as she referred to herself was incapable of showing her vulnerability her mere innocence has been ripped away. She was a robot and only there to perform one job, to shoot and kill the enemy she did not want to feel or be distracted by emotions. “The sound of Tyler singing, especially about us, would turn my whole self-inside out.” (p. 126) She did not want to be reminded about what was waiting for her back home, she experienced feelings of tremendous guilt from her assault and that she had fallen in love with Jimmy and knew that she didn’t deserve Tyler’s love or his thoughtful gifts. She could no longer face or endure the harsh realities of a home and the people she once knew and loved. The sand box is what she called home now and there was no escape from the hell in which she endured.
After while Kate was hospitalized for injuries sustained while on duty which was her only escape from the Iraq War. While housed at the hospital she suffered from severe PTSD and is haunted by flashbacks that render her delusional and unable to control her bodily functions, she has lost track of all time and the reality she once knew no longer exists as she encountered many tormented sleepless nights. “Oh, honey. You had a rough night, huh? Come on, up you get and we’ll wash you nice and clean.” (p.13) Kate lost interest in maintaining bodily hygiene and had no interest in her own mental health, she just wanted to numb her mind and her pain with prescribed medications she did not need any body’s help. She was required to meet with a support group for wounded female veterans while in the hospital, she was numb and in complete denial, avoided and lashed out at her peers as she did not want to be reminded or play over in her mind the horrific events that took place.
Kate returned home after her hospitalization and she struggled to reintegrate back into society and at home as she negotiated the psychological whiplash between war and peace between the expectations of a soldier abroad and those of a daughter, sister and girlfriend at home. She could not go out into public without looking over her shoulders for fear of being attacked, or hearing a loud noise that would jar her nerves. She had to find some normalcy in her life and set out to find Jimmy, the one person she could count on the only person who felt like home to her. She had later found out that Third Eye committed suicide do to her inability to reintegrate back into society, and others were redeployed. As Kate sat next to Jimmy and the bed she slowly rested her head in their joined hands, “I didn’t protect her, Jimmy,” I whisper as the tears come. I didn’t protect Yvette either, or Naema’s dad or her little brother. I’ve killed so many of them. Oh God, when will it stop?” (p. 305) She at last found peace and safety within Jimmy as they both comforted and supported one another after the tyranny of war and the war they fought within themselves. Finally, the tears and the words came and she released what seems like an eternity of anger, despair, and misery. At last she can begin to heal and put back the broken pieces of her psyche and live with peace of mind knowing that she was not responsible for her assault nor the death of her friends.
In conclusion many female soldiers who endure war are also victims of sexual assault and harassment and sustaining a military career can become difficult. In Dick’s documentary The Invisible War the statistics on military sexual assault are overwhelming stating that approximately one out three women suffer sexual assault and or sexual harassment while serving in the United States Armed Forces that often leads to debilitating conditions such as PTSD and major depression as displayed by Kate throughout Benedict’s novel Sand Queen. Military sexual trauma can be considered an epidemic brought on by inadequate enforcement of military law, equal opportunity, and failure to protect victims from punishment. Victims experience feelings of betrayal and loss of respect and loyalty for their fellow comrades and chain of command and often feel forced to choose between their military career and seeking justice for their trauma. Reporting the incident is often impossible as the perpetrators are most likely to outrank the victim who often exert control and retaliation over the victim and more often than not victims are forced to accept their situation and live in fear of further harassment or abuse. Lastly, in Dick’s 2012 documentary The Invisible War sexual trauma survivors and advocates continue to address and protest military law while advocating for equal opportunity and demanding a call for change to the way the military handles sexual harassment and sexual assault with the motto of “No crime should go unpunished.”
Works Cited
Benedict, H. (2011). Sand Queen. New York: Soho Press, Inc.
The Invisible War. Dir. Kirby Dick. Roco Films Educational, 2012. Web. Retrieved
October 05, 2015