The Role of Women in the Military
Women have always played significant parts in the United States military throughout the years; even though in the early years they where not allowed to enlist, they still performed certain duties that was vital to the military. However the roles that women have played have often been limited to certain duties. Women in the past where limited in what they where allowed to do, but more and more opportunities are opening for them as times change and women continue to fight for equal rights.
Women over the years have had to overcome a lot of the cultural views on the roles women are expected to play, in order for them to be an accepted part of the military. Women have often been stereotyped as being weaker than their male peers and in earlier years the duties women where expected to play, where that of a homemaker. Serving in the military was not culturally acceptable, even though women still played very important roles that where vital to the military. During the Revolutionary War women often had to take on the duties of there husbands. They often had to run there husbands businesses and do many other duties that where considered a mans work. The increasing responsibilities women had to perform helped pave the way for acceptance in the military. Women proved they where able to perform the duties of there male peers and this helped open the doors to serving in the military.
Women began to be an accepted part of the military after the Army Nurse Corps was established in 1901, but they often played important roles all the way back to the American Revolution. One very memorable woman that played a role in the American Revolutionary War was Deborah Sampson. She entered the Continental Army dres...
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... with more acceptance by their male peers.
Works Cited
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Within Megan H. Mackenzie’s essay, “Let Women Fight” she points out many facts about women serving in the U.S. military. She emphasizes the three central arguments that people have brought up about women fighting in the military. The arguments she states are that women cannot meet the physical requirements necessary to fight, they simply don’t belong in combat, and that their inclusion in fighting units would disrupt those units’ cohesion and battle readiness. The 1948 Women’s Armed Services Integration Act built a permanent corps of women in all the military departments, which was a big step forward at that time. Although there were many restrictions that were put on women, an increase of women in the U.S. armed forces happened during
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Men have always been looked upon as the leading sex. Looking back through history women have been the ones who take care of the home and children, while men are the ones who work and go to war. However in recent years there’s no doubt that women have become much more equal in the work force. Nevertheless men are still the ones who are forced to fight our wars when the time calls for it. Many think that women should be entirely equal to men having their choice to be drafted taken away but the fact is that they are physically at a disadvantage, too emotionally oriented, and the increase of female presence would have a more negative impact in the military in the way of social interactions.
"From Home Front to Front Line. " Women in War. Ed. Cecilia Lee and Paul Edward Strong.
female recruits at that time. *The average woman available to be recruited is smaller, weighs less, and is physically weaker than the vast majority of male recruits. She is also much brighter, better educated(a high school graduate), scores higher on the aptitude tests and is much less likely to become a disciplinary problem*. As the military modernized and weapons grew more sophisticated, education and technical skills became important. This development opened up more military jobs for women, including some combat-related jobs. For example, women became Army transport helicopter pilots and were assigned to nuclear missile sites. The rapid increase in military technology as well as changes in the whole concep...
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When it comes to combat assignments and the needs of the military, men take precedence over all other considerations, including career prospects of female service members. Female military members have been encouraged to pursue opportunities and career enhancement within the armed forces, which limit them only to the needs and good of the service due to women being not as “similarly situated” as their male counterparts when it comes to strength or aggressiveness, and are not able to handle combat situations.
The problem of women fighting in combat along with their male counterparts is not a one-sided problem. Elizabeth Hoisington has earned the rank of Brigadier General in the U.S. Army, leads the Women’s Army Corps and believes that women should not serve in combat because they are not as physically, mentally, or emotionally qualified as a male is and that ...
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Ruby, J. (2005, November 1). Women in Combat Roles: Is That the Question?. Off Our Backs,35, 36.
...into play that could affect how women perform in dangerous situations. Women are doing an outstanding job performing and magnifying their current positions in the military. We need to be satisfied and recognize our limitations as humans and soldiers. The role of women has always played an important role in military history. By leaving them out of combat their reputation can remain untainted.