Desk Reports :
The US military is currently in a strange situation. Before taking office, current Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on social media, “Our military is built on men. This is not a bad thing, it is necessary.” However, after seeking Senate confirmation to become Secretary of Defense under the Trump administration, he stepped back from that position and said that all positions on the front lines will be open to women. The very person who is skeptical about the role of women in the military is now having to rely on the same man to recruit women.
On the other hand, women are not interested in serving in the military on the battlefield. In view of this, TikTok, a platform that has been identified as a threat to national security, has become an important means of recruiting female members into the military.
Federal statistics show that while the number of male members in the military has fallen by 10 percent since 2005, the number of female members has increased by 12 percent over the same period. These statistics show that women are now playing an important role in recruitment. However, their working environment in the military is still not conducive. According to 2023 data, 13 percent of women serving in the military have experienced gender discrimination, compared to only 1.4 percent of men.
In this challenging situation, many female military officers are choosing TikTok to showcase their daily lives and struggles. It has become a platform where they can share their experiences, such as skincare, taking their children to school, or blogging from inside a flying plane. Through it, they are gaining thousands of followers and millions of views.
On this platform, they can talk about issues that male colleagues don’t usually discuss, such as changes to women’s uniforms or personal grooming rules.
“Women didn’t have a platform where they could talk about their problems,” said Monica Smith, a first lieutenant in the Army’s bomb disposal unit.
However, the military itself is not at ease on this platform. Videos with the hashtag #MilTok often contain offensive comments. In addition, Pentagon officials are also wary of this platform due to security risks, as TikTok is owned by a Chinese company. Lieutenant Smith said, “When everyone in my unit found out that I had a TikTok account, they were very sensitive.”
Some female officers also post on controversial topics, such as an influencer named Hailey Luhan. She creates videos that mix humor with the horrors of war. In one video, she dances in military uniform and jokes about the horrors of war.
Such posts have fueled speculation online that the women are actually ‘psychological-operations specialists’, meaning they are working to influence the image of the military in the minds of the public. However, most deny this accusation, saying they are simply expressing their own opinions.
Luhan wrote on his Instagram, “This is just a new way to stand up for what I believe in. I will use all kinds of ridiculous tactics if necessary.”
These incidents have sparked renewed debate about the impact of social media and modern recruitment practices in the US military.
