The Naked Citadel Essay

Behavior can be defined as an individual’s response to an action. The provoked feeling that propels someone to move or strike is a general example of behavior. Behavior is influenced by many different factors and comes forth in different forms. Some examples of these factors include one’s genetic makeup, environment, individual thoughts, and feelings. What makes one person’s behavior uniquely different from another comes from the diversity of the world, in terms of different habits, cultures and sex. This diversity is what sets individual behavior apart from one another. However, does this mean that people are wired to function according to the expectancy of society? In order to answer this question, it is essential to understand how the effects

of the ‘adopted set values’ play into people’s daily lives, which can be seen in Susan Faludi’s essay “The Naked Citadel.”
In “The Naked Citadel,” Faludi describes the changes that occurred when the military accidently admitted a female cadet into their all-male military institution.

She further describes the environment of the Citadel and notes the different changes that occurred in the behavior of the cadets over time. An example of this would be when the “men were stripped of their identity” (Faludi 282). Stripping, in this context, is when the original identity of the person is removed and then reconstructed. This new version of the cadet typically made their behavior more violent and extremely emotional. The changes observed at the Citadel are supplementary supported by Malcom Gladwell’s essay “The Power of Context.” The power of context described how a person actions and decisions are impacted largely by the environment. This “power of context” is displayed throughout Faludi’s essay. Both essays provide a connection to the environment of the Citadel to explain the behavior, renewed mindset, and new actions of the

cadets.
“The military stage set offers a false front and a welcome trapdoor - an escape hatch from the social burdens of traditional masculinity” (Faludi 210).

The Citadel was created to have an environment that foster an image of being the ideal man in the cadets. However, the cadets did not portray that image. Instead, the cadets felt like they were in womanly roles, like taking care of other cadets and helping each other with problems. The cadets saw these behavior as something mothers would do. This behavior is not something men would do. Men were tough and do not share problems. They can also take care of it themselves. The upperclassmen cadets acted masculine by abusing the freshmen and haze others. The upperclassmen behavior was to cover up the emotional side of them. “The essence of the Power of Context is that the same thing is true for certain kinds of environments - that in ways that we do not necessarily appreciate, our inner states are the result of our outer circumstances” (Gladwell 243). The cadets of the Citadel had romantic relationships with the drag queens because of the effect the Citadel had on their emotions. Some felt that drag queens were more of a woman than real women are. Many cadets felt that they did not need real women in their life because men were better at both roles of women and

men.
By first examining the perception of an individual or an institution, the behavior or mindset of that party can be defined properly. Perception is an individual’s mental impression that is influenced by culture, and especially more impressionable at a younger age. A good example of perception shaped by culture is the Citadel’s fixed tradition of not accepting many female applicants, or any for that matter. The perception at the Citadel is that a women is not a good fit for the institution because many felt that it would destroy the long and proud tradition of only accepting male candidates. The Citadel’s perception and tradition were put to the test when a female cadet, Shannon Faulkner, was accepted into the institution. Tradition has always been a major part of the Citadel in which the institution intends to train “real men.” The Citadel for the longest time was an all boy school, but who is to say what defines a man? In society, men are expected to think, act and live in a masculine manner. In order to do that, “men are stripped of their identity by being pressured into masculine roles by our society…and that it was expected of cadets to ‘act like a man’ instead of simply fitting the roles of human beings” (Faludi 282). Thus, when a men show his sensitivity or emotions, society tend to considered that a threat or taboo. Not only that, society saw the Citadel as an all-male school and wanted to keep it that way. According to Gladwell, this aspect of perception of character is referred to as FAE or the Fundamental Attribution Error. “The mistake we make in thinking of characters something unified and all-encompassing is very similar to a kind of blind spot in the way we process information” (Gladwell 159). This means that, there is a tendency for people to place an unnecessary emphasis on internal characteristics, like personality, to explain someone else’s behavior in a given situation rather than considering the situation’s external factors (i.e. environment). When making a fundamental attribution error, it should be noted that cultural differences also come into play. Society has made it loud and clear that women should not be allowed in the military, because they are to sensible, weak and emotional. The Citadel is making a mistake by allowing society to tell them how to run the institution. Traditions are meant to be broken and rewritten to reflect the changes over time. The all-male institution rule is becoming a blind spot for the Citadel. Time has proven over and over that women are ready for male roles.