The Military: The Role Of Women In The Military

1957 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of women in the armed forces

Military studies are relevant to women's history, because they serve to illuminate the extremely demanding conditions under which women have successfully served in, or in support of the US Armed Forces. An improved understanding of this facet of history serves to inform the contemporary debate over women in the military and provides a useful field of study for women seeking to enter the profession of arms. Throughout history woman have fought for many rights, because they felt as though they should be held as the same equal as their male counterparts. They have fought for a few rights like: voting, being able to have jobs, and the right to fight in the military. Woman in the military has been a hot topic for a very long time and still reigns true today. The controversy about having women fighting with men in wars is the fact that they have a different physical structure, deal with stress and emotions differently, are more susceptible to injury and just don't have the killer instinct necessary to get the job done. This controversy reigns true because our society has assimilated to gendered ideologies of what the role of women should be as well as the role of men all throughout the media.
Historical View (Theme)
Women have always been apart of the American Armed Forces. Women have served in or with the military in myriad capacities. Their diverse roles included nurse, physician, laundress, armament worker and combatant. So as we can see the bulk of the serving from women has been in supporting roles. American women have demonstrated their martial courage and competence in every US war. (Small, 2012). Women have been serving in the military since 1776. (Small, 2012). They have served in the wars like: the Revolutionary War, War o...

... middle of paper ...

...nformation that allow for some information to be more easily assimilated than others. Bem argues that there are individual differences in the degree to which people hold these gender schemata. These differences are manifested via the degree to which individuals are sex-typed.” (Freebase).
Though this is very true it does not mean that changing our perspective is impossible. Just like anything in life it takes time for progress to actually be in full effect. Women in the Military is something that will take a lot of time because it has to start with people wanting to see women first and foremost as equal human beings who deserve equal opportunity in all aspects just like their male counterparts. People will have to be willing to set aside their old traditional views, so that they can begin to view Women in the military from a fresh liberal state of mind.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Megan H. Mackenzie's Essay 'Let Women Fight'

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Rebecca Zissou Women Warriors Analysis

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    This is because women have proved themselves to be of equal capability as men, and they have already been serving in combat positions alongside men, though not legally. Fortunately, the Pentagon was able to see this and on December 3, 2015 Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter announced that they would be officially allowing women to serve in all combat positions in the U.S. armed forces. This change in military policy will allow more representation for women in the armed forces but it also represents a major leap towards gender equality, further closing the gap between men and

    Read More

  • Women and the Draft

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Women In The Invisible War

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Women in the Military: The Combat Exclusion Law

    1366 Words  | 3 Pages

    Should women serve in combat positions? The Combat Exclusion Law has dealt with this question since the 1940’s. As time continues, the question remains. The military has increased the percentage of females allowed to be enlisted and commissioned in the services as well as increasing the positions allotted to them (Matthews, Ender, Laurence, & Rohall, 2009). Keenan posits “women have served with distinction in … the Revolutionary War…as volunteer nurses and were only occasionally in the direct line of fire…four nurses evacuating 42 patients while the Germans bombed their field hospital…” (the DoD Combat Exclusion Policy) pg. 21.

    Read More

  • Women in Combat

    1219 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women during wartime situations were so determined to participate in the defense of their country and their homes, they went from performing the traditional duties of cooking, sewing, fixing the weapons for the soldiers to serving as soldiers themselves along side the men. They hid fugitives and even became spies. During World War II and the Vietnam War, women were only allowed to serve as nurses because military leaders did not want to expose women other than nurses to the horrors of combat. Women were not given any form of training and were not permitted to carry weapons which would able them to defend themselves against the enemy. Decisions permitting the deployment of women especially enlisted women, to the combat area was the military habit of over-protection, based on the notion that the women would not be able to cope with the slightest inconvenience without loss of morale and efficiency. It was just this kind of thinking that was continually interjected into the decision-making process when it came to enlisted women, which were often treated as though they were not much brighter than a young child. “The male soldiers, sailors, airmen and hostile wives back home labeled these

    Read More

  • Women´s Responsibility in the Military: The Right to Fight

    1232 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many women around the world have big responsibilities in the military, and although some people may disagree, I believe they can handle anything a man can handle when it comes to being on the battlefield. Some people think that women should not be able to fight in the military, where as other people think they should be able to fight in the military. Each supporter and non-supporter has their own reasons. Some of the reasons for the non-supporters are because of their gender. They think that because they are women, they cannot handle the challenges that being on the battlefield brings. Women are willing to fight, and they know what can happen, they know exactly what can happen. They are willing to fight for their country, and I believe they should be able to. The men that fight for our country are against women fighting in combat. They believe that women are not capable of doing what they do to defend and fight for our country. The men feel that they cannot trust women to help back them up at war simply because of the fact that they are women.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Awakening And Children Of Light

    1521 Words  | 4 Pages

    During World War II, 350,000 women served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Women helped manufacture ammunition, weapons, and aircraft and also worked in the fields to contribute to the war. (World War II-The Home Front) One of four married women worked outside the house between the years of 1940 and 1945. First lady Eleanor Roosevelt along with women’s groups and General George Marshall were supporters of the idea of having women serve in branches of the Army. (American Women in World War II)

    Read More

  • Women in the Military

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are two main reasons for the lack of females involved in the higher ranks of the U.S. military. (1)- Women are not allowed to participate in combat, which is most often how a promotion is achieved. The reasoning behind this problem is feelings and beliefs about gender integration would harm how effective a combat unit would be. (2)- There is a much higher turnover rate with women than there is with their male colleagues. Women are not as likely to remain in service as long as men and are less likely to view the military as a permanent or long-term career which will affect their chances at a promotion. (Sagalyn, 2011).

    Read More

  • Feminism In Military

    1398 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Dictionary, “Feminism [is]: the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.” Throughout history, women have fought the traditional viewpoints of the roles of women and have pushed past an abounding amount of boundaries. However, one blistering topic that is still being fought over today is, if women should be allowed in every aspect of the military. Since being allowed to join the military during World War 1, females have progressed through the ranks until being forced to stop when it comes to joining the elite groups of every branch. The controversial question that many military women face is, “If they wish to join these elite groups and meet the qualifications, why should we stop

    Read More

  • Women in the Military

    1465 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Women Should Be Allowed In Combat

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    Women have accepted the challenges, responsibilities, and dangers of military services, just as men have. Not allowing females to fight in combat is like surviving medical school and being told you can’t become a doctor because you female. It no longer makes sense to not allow a women to fight in combat when she might be the one who saves a platoon. Major Eleanor Taylor, the first women to lead an infantry company in combat has this to say “My personal experience has been that the principles of leadership and team building apply equally to women as to men. As long as you protect qualification standards and give no impression that anyone is getting a free ride, integration, while not without bumps, will be less dramatic than people

    Read More

  • Gender Binary Essay

    981 Words  | 2 Pages

    The sex and gender binary is a socially-constructed classification of sex and gender into two distinct and biological forms of masculine and feminine. The binary is a restricting concept that enforces the ideology that solely two genders exist—it is a social boundary that limits people from exploring gender identity or mixing it up (Larkin, 2016). As Mann depicts it, the binary constrains us to take on one gender identity, and to follow through with the expected roles assigned to that gender. The implications are that it compels people to fit into the binary and follow the patriarchal, heteronormative traditions of society (Mann, 2012). However, the binary was not always so clear-cut, but certain concepts from scientific research such as the

    Read More

  • Should Women Serve In Combat?

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    Across the history, women Suffer from luck of their right. Culture and civilization was not respect women and put them in the lower layer in their social pyramid. Kill them were they alive, while other give them a life with a lot of misery and obstacle, which is the same thing or killing them better than these life . At the few previous centuries, the world growth and become more opening. people understanding that they are needing women in a lot of job outside their home as men. Sadly, when we came to combat sector, we stop thinking logically. It is men major one hundred percent . If we look to the book (1001 things everyone should know about women's history) which written by Constance Jones (2000) we can find that only 88013 women among history had the ability to take part in military by give a variety of services. Some country actually these day try to make it happen. For instance the first country was allowed women in military was Norway around 1985. Then, it followed by thirteen other countries. It still small percentage compared with the world. It is the right of women to join army and take part in combat, because they are capable as men in adapting with situation. Also, they have equally amount in cerebration and they have the right to decide their own destiny.

    Read More

  • Military Women Should NOT Be Allowed in Combat Positions

    1676 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

More about The Military: The Role Of Women In The Military

Open Document