Like the rest of the world, on New Year’s Day, I revelled in the twists and turns of the new smash hit Netflix series ‘Fool Me Once.’ Starring Michelle Keegan as former soldier ‘Maya Stern,’ the show follows the quest to discover who murdered her sister and husband.
But a gripping storyline that had me clutching the edge of my seat is not all I came away with from watching this series. Maya’s strong sense of style and overwhelmingly put-together outfits have had a transformative effect on reconfiguring stereotypes and pressures that women in the military face daily.
One of the most distinctive pieces worn by Keegan during the show is a tailored, sophisticated trench coat. Holland and Cooper design the black wool coat worn during the funeral of her dead husband, and the classic trench, which joins her during most of her detective work, is by Burberry. Something about a long coat here exudes sophistication, investigation (think Sherlock Holmes), and having your sh** together – something that comes out overwhelmingly within this series. Jackets aside, accessories play a crucial role in the story. More casual fitted knit tops can be seen on Stern during some of her key scenes, conveying a subtle sense of femininity even during shooting and action scenes, often associated with plain, more masculine attire.
To place this in a real-life context, US soldier Sonia Kendrick (deployed in South Korea and Afghanistan) revealed in a Guardian article that she “learned to blend in with the guys. I changed the way I talk and eliminated many so-called feminine characteristics so as not to draw attention to myself”. Seemingly, pressure exists today in military settings for women to retract away from their femininity to be respected by an overwhelmingly male-dominated industry. Considering other examples of female soldiers being perceived on TV, in 2016, BBC’s ‘Our Girl’ – also starring Keegan– was heavily criticised as female soldiers wore makeup on screen, deemed inaccurate. Keegan fought back and stated that she had met and consolidated with several women in the military to assure her that this was not against protocol. Unfortunately, an attempt here to properly represent female soldiers was unable to make its envisaged debut due to any portrayal of femininity being criticised instead of celebrated.
Looking further back into history, female workers in the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) during WW2 were not initially respected by their male counterparts despite wearing a uniform that resembled what the men were wearing at the time. They were mocked as “Female Tommies” and “Scum of the Earth” despite attempting to enforce strict uniforms which aligned with not only the men but also to the critical war effort that many of them were significantly contributing to. The portrayal of women in the military began substantially during the World Wars, but from there, there was a long way to go.
The role of female actors playing female soldiers is not portrayed in isolation. Stereotyping and negative perceptions that exist surrounding how women in the military dress both while serving and not can be significantly influenced by the media that the public consumes. Before ‘Fool Me Once’, certain shows involving female soldiers have attempted to portray women in the military accurately but often to no avail as they have come under fire from all angles. The perceptions revealed through the screen are essential to continually changing minds and narratives surrounding female soldiers and military workers.