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Opportunities for women in the military
Opportunities for women in the military
Essays on women in the military
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Breaking the Perpetual Patriarchy in the Military
When most people think of the military, they think of strong men battling it out in combat. How can we insert women into the ideal perception of the military and let their presence be known? We need to make sure that women are represented and given the same opportunities as men are. As fast as the nation is progressing in the field of women’s rights, the military is still behind. Martha McSally, a retired United States Air Force Colonel, wrote about the struggles women in the military in her piece Defending America in Mixed Company: Gender in the U.S. Armed Forces. McSally writes not about her experience in the military, but about how all females are treated at a disadvantage. She draws support
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Growing up, everyone is taught that women are the nurturing type and that men are the “breadwinners” who financially provide for the family while the women stay home and emotionally (and physically) care for the household. Limiting women to the domestic life is damaging to men as well. Barnett cited studies which found that “men with primary childcare responsibility are indistinguishable from mothers in nurturing abilities” (Barnett, 671). This shows that the gender roles placed on us are not accurate. The belief that women have to be nurturing and men have to be protective damages us all. McSally quotes a woman named Kathleen Teague that, while speaking about women’s potential inclusion in the Selective Service registration, said “we expect our servicemen to be tough enough to defend us against any enemy- and we want our women to be feminine and human enough to transform our servicemen into good husbands, fathers, and citizens”. Teague played upon the traditional gender roles, using them as a reason that women should not have to be included in the Selective Service. This is harmful as it tries to keep our society from transforming past the roles that we have been brought up
The article I read was “Weight Loss at Any Cost” by James Sanborn. Sanborn’s intended audience was the Marine Corps Times where he published the article in October 2010. He wanted to reach the Marine Corps and Marines as his intended audience. Stanborn used the Corps own words against them quoting them saying “Marines come in all shapes and sizes.” This statement is powerful and has an impact; making the Corps look hypocritical because of the tightened standards which ultimately want Marines to be the same size and shape. Despite how physically capable a Marine is if they don’t meet the standards they risk losing their career. In the past there was leniency shown to Marines who didn’t have the body-fat standards
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
G.I. Joe, the white and brave American male soldier, was firmly the symbol of American freedom and patriotism during WWII. Meanwhile, women were encouraged to be nurses, mothers, and some were paraded around as tokens of “equality” like Rosie the Riveter and “Marinettes.” Now, the second World War has been pointed to as a turning point in women's rights. However, few Americans recognized the achievements of women and most even discouraged them. Because the many contributions of women during WWII went unnoticed, even today, Americans need to learn the sacrifices many women made while still being treated as less than a man. Only from these mistakes can the United States learn to recognize the women that serve this country on a daily basis.
With society’s past and present it is apparent that women are still not equal even if they have the title. Men are observably stronger and have a different mentality in situations than women. This is not to say that women should not be in the military but they should have the choice that way they can accept the responsibility and train themselves mentally and physically to achieve the responsibility and respect needed to fight for our country.
Since the resolution of World War II, the United States has been involved in over fifteen extensive military wars. Recent wars between Iraq and Afghanistan are being fought over several issues which affect women in both the United States and the other nations. While the military is often thought of a male dominated institution, women are present and affected all throughout the system as soldiers, caretakers, partners, and victims. Transnational feminists often fight against war due to the vulnerability that is placed on women during times of war. Despite often being overlooked, there is no doubt that women are heavily included in the devastating consequences of war.
From this, supporters of women joining the draft argue that their involvement in the draft should also reflect on their increasing involvement in the army. However, those who oppose women being apart of the draft argue that equality between men and women is an unrealistic mindset. This is proven in the New York Times with Catherine Rampell’s when she writes “Women earn 92.2 cents on the dollar of what men earn” (1). This is a statistic from 2011 that shows people that complete equality between men and women has still not fully been reached. Furthermore, those opposed to women and the draft argue that if America has not completely reached full equality within the genders, then neither should the army.
When creating a comparative rhetorical analysis of two different feminist essays, we must first define the term “feminism”. According to Merriam-Webster.com, feminism is “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities”. Feminism is a also a long term social movement, one that’s been in the works since the early 1900’s. However, as any challenger to the norm might receive, the words ‘feminism’ and ‘feminist’ have gotten a bad reputation. Throughout the years, popular opinion has agreed that if you’re a feminist, you hate men, and don’t shave. It’s a very close-minded belief, and both Lindy West and Roxane Gay agree. Both authors of the essays I am comparing today, West and Gay try and convey their beliefs that feminism isn’t what you think it is. However, they do it in very different ways. Who conveyed their beliefs of feminism better and the superior argument? That is what I am going to display today.
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.
In every war the women had stepped up to try to help the men who were off to fight, but the more agrarian societies of the revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War, and even World War I meant that most stepped up to do the work on the farm. In World War II, it was just as likely that the wives and mothers were stepping up to take a place in a factory as in the fields. While America was still primarily agrarian, the factories needed for warfare had brought the women to take their husband’s and son’s and boyfriend’s places. And while some women followed their husbands to the battlefront in the Civil War, and a few even enlisted as men, World War II brought a whole new experience as a huge war machine needed the men at the fronts for ...
Women’s rights pioneer, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in her speech, The Destructive Male, expresses her feelings about Women's suffrage in 1868, and brought to light the misconception that women are not equal to man and imply that men bring more destruction than restoration.
The story of America’s military woman can be traced to the birth of our nation. During the American Revolutionary War, the 18th and 19th centuries, where women served informally as nurses, seamstresses, cooks, and even as spies and were subject to Army’s rules of Conduct. Though not in uniform, these women shared soldier’s hardships including inadequate housing and little compensation. Women have formally been part of the U.S Armed Forces since the Inception of the Army Nurse Corps in 1901. In 1973 the transition to the All-Volunteer Force marked a dramatic increase in the opportunities available for women to serve in the military. As of September 30, 2009, the total number of active duty women in the U.S was 203, 375, and women made up 14.3 percent of the U.s armed forces (Robinson). Women are a crucial role in c...
Women have been serving honorably in the military for centuries; yet, the some of the stereotypes still exist. There are still men who make blanket assumptions or hasty generalizations about women in the military. According to Mosser (2011), "Often the fallacy of hasty generalization can lead to damaging stereotypes made on the basis of just a few examples" (Sec 4.1). A common stereotype that still exists is that women in the military are not as committed to the mission as their male counterparts. He used to say that only the men in Air Force truly followed the second core value of "Service before Self." He would tell us that women subscribe to "Family before Service." He made this connection because two of his previous female airmen did not complete their fair share of work and often found ways to get out of deploying. My supervisor's stereotype of military women infuriated me but also motivated me to prove him wrong. I garnered more than 100 Letters of Appreciations from General Officers, Senators, Congressmen, and the Secretary of State for my outstanding work. Generalized judgments lik...
Why Women Should Not Fight on the Frontlines: What happened to men putting women and children first? Our society has always heard and grown up around men going to war to keep women and children safe, but now there is talk about letting women fight on the frontlines with men. This contradicts what our society has grown to know. There are women in the military helping out with many things like cooking, cleaning, tending to men with injuries, etc. Our nation needs women for all these important jobs, but do we really need them to fight in combat?
Perhaps some of the most unfair double standards are that of women. One common one is the notion that women shouldn’t fight in war. Women are said to be too weak and unable, mentally and emotionally, to handle the aspects of war. When the men of our country left for World War II they had to abandon their jobs. Having work that still had to be done but with a majority of the male population gone and fighting in the war, the only reasonable solution was to have women take over their jobs. After the war was over and all of the men fighting in it returned home, they took their place back at their old jobs, removing the women. Women were seen as being more suitable at home tending to the house and children, rather than working in factories. Why is something that was sociall...
Have you ever wondered about women in the military? Women now have the ability to serve their country. Men have been able to serve in the military since the first battle. Women did not have that choice. Because of this mark in history, men are more likely to join. It took a long time for people to accept women in the military. It provides sacrifice, standards to follow, having the choice of serving or not, the joy of achieving one goal and the honor of serving.