Woman in the military

[MyDecember]

In my class we got to talking about the military and the way they handle sex and gender in the armed forces. The topic was brought up because we thought we had a military personnel coming in to speak with us about that topic. The topics at hand were: Women and pregnancy, Women on the front line and what DADT being repealed really means to the military. Well of course those being sensitive subjects he called a student at the last second telling him he will not show up because of the nature of the conversation. So we were left to class discussion. I was surprised to see how much support there was for gays and lesbians in the military. No one really disagreed with the subject, full support.
The problem topic was women on the front line. The ROTC student in the class claims that women aren't allowed on the battle field because:
1. They are not as physically strong as men
2. It will effect men more psychologically to see a woman hurt or killed on the battle field that it would to see a man on the battle field.
3. Temptation for sex and relationships
4. Showering would be awkward.

I am in total favor for women who WANT to serve in the military and on the front line. I've always thought it funny (if you've seen the commercial) that the military can put out commercials about fighting fire monsters but when it comes to social issues they love to run away from them or ignore them all together. I'm a feminist at heart and I think if women on the front lines would allow for a better and new perspective on wars and conflicts. It's always been a men's job. I also think it is a shame that the military does not value men as a parental guide to their children. Think about it, women are sacred and must nurture the kids. They don't have that outlook on men. Men fight because they are men and we don't mind the impact of a child's parent dying as long as it is not a women. There were a lot of ideas flying around. Growing up in a single mother household I've learned that there isn't one thing a man can do that a woman can't do. Vice versa.
So what do you think, women on the front lines a good idea or bad? (to be clear women on the front lines means them actually in combat roles. As of today they mostly serve as backup roles and labor roles from what the ROTC students, Sex and Gender
professor and the girl I know from Hawaii have explained.)

[lostinthought9]

I thought the only reason women didn't serve on the front lines of combat is because missions are likely to go on for days, and women have to shower more frequently than men to prevent infections down there? I may have been mislead, but that's what I've "heard."

[Zontar]

If there's no valid physical reasons for women not to be on the front line, I don't oppose their being there.

I was under the impression that they weren't as biologically equipped to handle something most men can hardly go through, though.

[Beachboi92]

the following is the opinion of my lesbian friend in the navy,

i am a strong supporter for women in combat roles. its taken a very long time for the military to even fully accept women in non-combat roles, such as on ships and submarines in the navy, and a lot of the resistance stems from public opinion and the negative pr that would result from a woman being killed in action. i think that mentally and biologically women and men are equally equipped to deal with combat stress and the conditions that are present in the field today, and that it is much more dependent on the person as an individual rather than their biological sex.

some of the arguments against women being in combat are uniform regulations relating to hair style and that a gas mask would not seal properly on a woman's face due to their long hair. This is absolutely untrue because uniform regulation requires women to pull their hair back if it is longer than their collar.

another argument is due to the psychological impact due to men seeing a woman injured or killed. This would also depend on the person, and in my personal experience my unit does not consider me different due to my sex i am simply part of the unit in the same way any of the guys are. In my experience there are a lot of men AND women that should not be on the front lines and i don't believe sex plays a role in any of it.

[DougieBoy]

Even though i love men, i think woman who can handle and shoot a gun is sexy!

[Flyers2011]

I think that if a woman wants to serve her country in the front lines, she should. Why should being a woman stop her? It's the same argument that was made years ago to stop women from working back in the 20s, that women weren't strong enough to handle a "man's job". It's complete bull.

[Zontar]

Originally Posted by Flyers2011

I think that if a woman wants to serve her country in the front lines, she should. Why should being a woman stop her? It's the same argument that was made years ago to stop women from working back in the 20s, that women weren't strong enough to handle a "man's job". It's complete bull.

We're talking things I would hardly make it through though. Does frontline combat require greater physical strength, for instance? It's things like that I'm guessing the Army has answers for, although I keep an open mind to the possibility that the only reason women aren't on the frontline is solely because of senseless tradition.

[endless poetry]

first no blacks, then no gays now no women?
we'll have to put away any irrelevent means of discrimination before all.

With our armed forces having the highest (I believe) ratio of women in volunteer forces, many women fight combat roles and our forces fare just as well. Women have always played a role in war (from the Women of Troy to the Bren Gun girl) and if a woman wishes to participate combat roles, then finally may we see that they are allowed.