The experience of killing with drones can be both hypermasculine and emasculating, as operators are both invulnerable to physical harm and removed from the traditional masculine ideals of combat.

The technostrategic discourses of drone warfare also distance the use of lethal technology from its deadly consequences, using rational language, euphemism, and abstraction. The altered spatiotemporal experience of drone warfare makes killing easier, but it also raises questions about the masculinity of drone operators. They are often depicted as being in the domestic sphere, juxtaposing their combat experience with running errands for their spouses or coaching a kids' soccer team.