Grim reapers: ghostly narratives of masculinity and killing in drone warfare

This article embraces the spectral turn and sociological framework of “Haunting” to investigate the gendered implications of armed drones for the individuals who crew them. Introducing original interview data from former British Reaper drone crews and focusing on their experiences of conducting lethal operations, this article builds on feminist and queer theorizing to illuminate the instability of the binary distinction between masculinity and femininity as traditionally understood. Developing “Haunting,” I draw out three themes: complex personhood, in/(hyper)visibility, and disturbed temporality as the frames through which the intersection of gender and drone warfare can be examined. I draw upon the conceptual metaphor of the ghost to explore the dead that is also alive, the absent that is also present, and that silence that is also a scream. Through this, I argue that Haunting provides a framework for both revealing and destabilizing gendered binaries and is therefore a useful tool for feminist security and international relations scholars.