Christopher Amado
02/13/2012
CRMJUS 321L
GI Janes
It is fair to say that in the United States Military men have always dominated over women. Since the beginning of women involvement in the US Military, their jobs have always been very limited. Congress has put into place many laws that restrict women from being on the front lines of war which restricts the amount of jobs that are available to them. According to an article on voanews.com, “Women are nearly everywhere in the modern U.S. military. Nearly everywhere. They fly aircraft, drive trucks through dangerous areas, carry automatic weapons, guard prisoners and help provide a variety of critical functions, including their more traditional military roles as nurses and doctors.”
However in the United States today, women rights activists and many women in the military have been pushing for more female involvement in one of the greatest militaries in the world. An online article on Military.com briefly commented on the idea of possible male domination by saying, “While female Soldiers have engaged in combat, they have done so as members of combat support units — transportation, maintenance and military police — not infantry.” However topics of equality and oppression are rising in congress.
A major fear of people opposing the equality is intercourse between soldiers getting in the way of them conducting their normal required duties. According to the NY Times, “Opponents of integrating women in combat zones long feared that sex would mean the end of American military prowess. But now birth control is available — the PX at Warhorse even sold out of condoms one day recently — reflecting a widely accepted reality that soldiers have sex at outposts across Iraq.” The fear is slowly receding among its believers but is still under thought against women equality in the military.
How can congress tell women that even though they may find themselves in a combat situation and women have given their lives for the war effort that they cannot fully participate in the military? Is congress creating hegemony in favor of males? Or is inequality between males and females solely institutionalized? These are the questions that are considered when handling such debates.
Despite all of the efforts of women’s rights activists though, most people who oppose those rights and think it should stay the way it is find elusive ways to keep the activists at bay. They develop laws and policies that serve as roadblocks for gender equality in the military. Things are changing but not at a fast enough pace where we will see any major change for a decent amount of time. As always women are still dominated over in some fields regardless of what rights and laws try to stop the oppression. Just like previously stated, the government creates such hegemony that it is able to deflect worries about inequality for extended periods of time. I have no doubt that women are just trying to find a place for themselves in this world. If the United States Military can understand the importance of equality then it may also be true that the nation as a whole may find such kindness and boldness.
References
1.) Jordan, Bryant. “Army Mulls Women in Combat Arms Units.” Military.com. Military.com, 7 Jan. 2011. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.military.com/news/article/army-mulls-women-in-combat-arms-units.html>.