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The story of Eliza Fraser (1798-1858), a young woman who was shipwrecked off the coast of Queensland and was subsequently kidnapped by local Aboriginals, continues to be a legend in Australian culture. In her 1995 study In the Wake of First Contact: The Eliza Fraser Story, author Kay Schaffer analyzes the media perception and later retellings of this story and how these events were used to propagate racial biases and stereotypes of “savage” blacks. Schaffer also highlights the continued role this legend plays in determining Australian race and gender relations. For more literature on nineteenth century colonialism, visit https://gwonline.unc.edu/chapter14-abstract .

Following the Allied victory in 1945, the brave American and British troops who stormed the beaches of Normandy would subsequently be crowned “the greatest generation” -- the conquerors of Na**sm and the noble liberators of Western Europe. However, in his 2007 monograph Taken by Force: R**e and American GIs in Europe during World War II, author Robert Lilly challenges these concepts of Western morality during the conflict and highlights the prevalence of r**e and sexual assault within U.S.-occupied European territories, as well as the disproportionate punishment of black soldiers for these crimes during the post-war prosecutions. For more studies on sexual violence, race and gender in the context of World War II, visit https://gwonline.unc.edu/chapter24-abstract.

In her study Soldaderas in the Mexican Military: Myth and History (University of Texas Press, 1990) Elizabeth Salas explores the changing role of the soldadera, both in reality and as a cultural symbol, from pre-Columbian times up to the present day. Soldiering has been a traditional life experience for innumerable women in Mexico, yet the many names given these women warriors--heroines, camp followers, Amazons, coronelas, soldadas , soldaderas , and Adelitas--indicate their ambivalent position within Mexican society. For more literature on women in the military in different countries, visit https://gwonline.unc.edu/node/729.

Because of their auxiliary status, women pilots in World War II are often forgotten about, despite their great contributions and struggles both at home and in the air to prove their capability to do a "man's job". Listen to the oral accounts of the Women's Airforce Service Pilots of the US and the Night Witches of Russian legend in this Journeyman Productions documentary, Wasps and Witches: Women Pilots of World War II (2021). Learn more about these pioneers in aviation at https://gwonline.unc.edu/node/4912

Located on the west coast of northern Africa, the country of Guinea earned its independence from France on October 2, 1958. In her book French Colonialism Unmasked: The Vichy Years in French West Africa (University of Nebraska Press, 2006), Ruth Ginio examines French colonialism during the the Vichy Years from 1940 to 1944. She describes the intriguing encounters between the colonial regime and African society along with the responses of different sectors in the African population to the Vichy policy. Find more literature on gender and colonialism at: https://gwonline.unc.edu/node/5241.

Valeria "Yay" Panlilo was a mother, journalist, and second-in-command of Marking's Guerillas, a band of Filipinos fighting in the Pacific. Cited as the brains of the operation, learn about Mammy Yay's life as a triple agent and anti-Japanese propaganda specialist in her autobiography, The Crucible: An Autobiography by Colonel Yay, Filipina American Guerilla (Rutgers: 2010). Find out more about Colonel Yay and other women of WWII at https://gwonline.unc.edu/node/5050

When Boer farmer Sloet Steenkamp (played by Ian Roberts) dares to oppose British imperial rule during the Second Boer War (1899-1902) in the 1994 South African film Arende, directed by Dirk de Villers, he is caught by enemy soldiers and brought to a British concentration camp on the island of Saint Helena, from which he is determined to escape. Find more literature about the Second Boer War at: https://gwonline.unc.edu/node/12005.

John D. Garrigus examines some of the more unexpected social outcomes of the Haitian Revolution in his article "To Establish a Community of Property: Marriage and Race Before and During the Haitian Revolution" from History of the Family Journal. By comparing marriage contracts both before and after the revolution, Garrigus finds that in*******al marriages actually decreased following emancipation. Find out more about family relations and revolutions at https://gwonline.unc.edu/node/1740.

Ruth Cheney Streeter (1895-1990) was the first director of the United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve (USMCWR) and became the first woman to earn the rank of Major in the USMCWR in 1943. She retired at the end of the Second World War as a full colonel. Colonel Streeter tells her story in her autobiography Tales of an Ancient Marine (1974). Learn more about her book and more amazing women like her at https://gwonline.unc.edu/node/3204.

Directed by journalist Tim Hetherington and photojournalist Sebastian Junger, "Restrepo" (2010, US) is a documentary film about the Afghanistan War. It focuses on a platoon of soldiers stationed near Korengal Valley, one of the most dangerous posts in the US military, and their day-to-day actions. For more documentaries on gender, war and combat visit: gwonline.unc.edu
https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2566261017?playlistId=tt1559549&ref_=tt_pr_ov_vi

Restrepo Trailer for Restrepo