Pilot resistance to drones inscribed a threat to masculine virility through risk-taking.

Evidence

In English one uses the expression “unmanned aerial vehicle” to refer to a crewless plane. But one of the troubles with unmanned aerial vehicles is literally the peril of becoming “un-manned” in every sense of the term, including “emasculated.” That also is why those Air Force officers initially put up such resistance to the general adoption of the drones. Obviously the drones threatened their own employment, their professional qualifications, and their institutional position, but the threat was also to their own virility, which was largely associated with the taking of risks. — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 354

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the double meaning of ‘un-manned’ and ties virility to the traditional taking of risk.
• XREF: connects to: Air Force pilots resisted drones partly because unmanning threatened their virility.; Drone operators are called brave for risking their psychic rather than physical lives; Eliminating reciprocal exposure to violence makes drones look like cowardly weapons. — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 125 (+2 more)

Related

• Air Force pilots resisted drones partly because unmanning threatened their virility. (similarity 0.93)
• Drone operators are called brave for risking their psychic rather than physical lives (similarity 0.90)
• Air Force pilots were drones’ most virulent early critics, not pacifists. (similarity 0.83)
• Eliminating reciprocal exposure to violence makes drones look like cowardly weapons. (similarity 0.82)
• Risk-free drone operators morally resemble assassins, not soldiers (similarity 0.80)
• The drone exemplifies the moral hazard of acting without bearing costs (similarity 0.79)
• Drones create a moral hazard that shifts risk onto others. (similarity 0.79)
• Drone design produces a strong moral buffering effect on operators (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Eliminating reciprocal exposure to violence makes drones look like cowardly weapons. #corroborates (0.70) — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 125
• Risk-free drone operators morally resemble assassins, not soldiers #corroborates (0.55) — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 509