Research Symposium

BIO

Sophie Guillet-Robertson is a first-year presidential scholar student pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Media Production and Humanities. Her on- and off-campus involvements include: media marketing assistant at the Center for Leadership and Service and community service through the Presidential scholars program. She has experience making short films and documentaries, and wishes to pursue a career in the film industry.

Ungentlemanly Warfare: The Women of the SOE

Abstract

The women who contributed to the intelligence gathering during World War II are often overlooked, despite the crucial roles they played in the Allied operations. Our project examines the women of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) in France (F Section), and how their lives differed from their male counterparts. Historically, information gathered on these operatives has been reported through biased lenses such as sensationalism, propaganda, and misogyny, therefore muddying their achievements. We investigated this question by reading, transcribing, and analyzing primary documents, as well as academic writing. Our results found that there were significant differences between the men and women of the SOE in terms of how they were treated and discussed, yet they were given equal responsibilities and put in situations of comparable danger. Our project contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the Allied war effort and a reconsideration of gender, memory, and reputation in this context.

Keywords: history, feminism, WWII, spies