“You Can't Always Run Away”: Gender Reflexivity and Personal Firearms Ownership among Civilian Women Gun Owners in Israel: Gender Reflexivity and Personal Firearms Ownership among Civilian Women Gun Owners in Israel

This article explores the interplay between the nation-state, gender, and security by exploring embodied experiences of Israeli women gun owners. Growing skepticism toward Israel's historically state-centric security model has driven a significant increase in women's personal handgun ownership, disrupting and reconfiguring traditional gender identities. As the state's monopoly on public security erodes, armed women increasingly take on the role of protectors for themselves and their families. This shift broadens the spectrum of gendered practices tied to firearms, security, and Israeli citizenship. Based on 17 in-depth qualitative interviews, we demonstrate how armed women draw on and transform elements of traditional feminine expression by melding notions of feminine dress, motherhood, and firearms equality. This study contributes to theoretical discourse on gender performativity and firearms by demonstrating how private gun ownership does not wholly subvert dominant masculine forms of Israeli militarization, but rather functions to construct a new grammar and vocabulary of feminine performances around both firearms ownership and Israeli gendered citizenship.