Poll: - Women In The Military -

[EeveeElectro]

Not letting them prove themselves if you're not giving them chance, are you?
I can definitely see both sides, but I was hoping that this is the time for equal rights.

 

[sanomaton]

Add one more to your list, OP. Women can't piss standing up.

Actually this is wrong. Women can pee standing up, they just need to be showed how. (At least I can and it's pretty simple too, I just don't feel like explaining it here to all you male people)

But yea, I all for the first option. To me this is all about the "men's world we live in" bullshit with men dominating in the military. If women want to go to war and shoot some enemies then why the heck not let them?! Something I can never understand.

 

[the_bearpelt]

I didn't know about some of those facts. I suppose, if enough women joined the army, there could be seperate squads or something.
But when it gets down to simple gender-equality, I really couldn't care less if the soldiers protecting my country are male, female, or hermaphrodites. It's like how I don't give a damn if a firefighter is a midget on steroids, so long as they can carry me out alive. (There was a whole gender-equality lawsuit when a woman wasn't allowed to join because she wasn't strong enough to carry the weight of a human out of a building and she screamed sexism. It was quite silly.)

On the other hand, I hadn't realized there were more psychological problems or issues with it. I dunno what you'd really do about those. *shrugs*

 

[the_bearpelt]

Bryn, I am duly impressed.
While it's true that there are some women who are plenty fit to be soldiers (I have a friend whom my friends and I have dubbed Chuck Norris because she kicks ass), but there really aren't as many women who're as fit as men. Call it a remnant of sexism, whatever. It's still there, regardless why. (Altho I think it's partly because women just don't go for things like the military as much.)

I agree with the full-examination thing. What it really gets down to is that it's supposed to be gender-equal OPPORTUNITY. That doesn't mean it HAS to be equal in numbers; just that it's possible for that to occur.

 

[WolfThomas]

Another thing to add to what I said above, is the only way woman are going to be treated as equals is if they can gain the respect of their fellow male troops. The most important way I could see this happening is by lugging the same amount of weight, passing the same tests and showing that they are equal to their male peers physically.

Can all women do this? No. Can most? Probably not. The few who can are more likely to hardened Vasquez types (apologies for an easy fictional parallel) who may be very butch and touch, with very few "lady like" qualites.

Bryn, I am duly impressed.

Thanks, it's a topic I've put a lot of thought into recently as more and more stuff is in the news or on the internet.

 

[the_bearpelt]

Another thing to add to what I said above, is the only way woman are going to be treated as equals is if they can gain the respect of their fellow male troops. The most important way I could see this happening is by lugging the same amount of weight, passing the same tests and showing that they are equal to their male peers physically.

Can all women do this? No. Can most? Probably not. The few who can are more likely to hardened Vasquez types (apologies for an easy fictional parallel) who may be very butch and touch, with very few "lady like" qualites.

Bryn, I am duly impressed.

Thanks, it's a topic I've put a lot of thought into recently as more and more stuff is in the news or on the internet.

Your welcome.

And I agree. Personally, I'm sick of some women running around, bemoaning how they're judged and whatever, which only makes them look like sissy victims instead of strong adults. But then again, I'd feel the same way if men did it.

Hehe. Butch? I dunno if I'd call my friend that, but she's definitly not ladylike. But she's also not one of those women who's always out trying to prove themselves and stuff. She's confident, so it makes her actually strong, y'know? She's cool like that.

I dunno. I suppose, for a woman, I have odd opinions on this since I seem to side less with feminism and more with "I don't care if they're male or female, if they deserve a punch in the face they should get one" sort of mentality.

 

[The Wooster]

It works out pretty well for Israel but on the whole I'm going to go with Bill Hicks on this one.

 

[GrinningManiac]

It's a difficult concept

Initital reaction is to let them do whatever, but then I remember they're gonna be in a predominantly male enviornment where there's no personal space or anything like that. I cannot decide how the men would react (it gets lonely on patrol...just sayin')

 

[Ameatypie]

You should give someone a job based on their ability to do that job and nothing else - there should be no gender boundaries, no race boundaries, no sexuality boundaries... just their ability to complete the tasks they are assigned to.

 

[cuddly_tomato]

I am all for it. Women on the front lines might go some way towards dealing with the "macho-man-big-cockness" that seems to be endemic to some areas of the infantry.

Also, I have a women in military outfit fettish.

 

[veloper]

Just aslong as they are judged by the same standards as the men, benchpresses and everything, then it's fine. Otherwise no.

 

[bluemistake2]

Women should absolutely be able to fight, after all, it doesn't take broad shoulders to fire a gun.

what if its a minigun (im aware that it is almost impossible to carry a minigun)

 

[muffincakes]

Even though the arguments of, "this is how it should be" sound great, they are poor arguments because it assumes that everyone will act civil and proper. Sure, cats and dogs should get along, but you're more likely to see a cat in a tree with a dog barking at its base.

Did you know that there are a good number of women getting Article 15'd and shipped back because they were getting pregnant in Iraq? Did you know that some of them did it on purpose because they wanted to go home? Well now that you do maybe you can add another mark on the 'Don't mix men and women' board. Yeah, guys should control their dicks, but when a woman wants to go home and is trying to get pregnant to do so, that put's a whole lot of strain on her male counterparts.

And on the subject of the general sexual tension: There was a Bradley crew that had a female medic with them. One of the crew liked the girl(first problem) and she shot him down(second problem). Now they hate each other(third problem) and will get into literal slap fights during potential combat situations(fourth problem). Now you can say whatever you want about self-control and maturity, but the simple fact is that if those two weren't put together in the first place then there would not have been a problem at all.

I'm not saying that women shouldn't be allowed into the army because they aren't the problem. The problem is how men and women interact. If you want to fix the problem, you have to fix the issues, and personally, I think the best way to do that is by separating the sexes. Or by taking one of them out of the military completely(men or women, it doesn't matter. They can both do the job, just not together).

Of course, that still leaves the other problem of people on the outside looking in, trying to come up with solutions to problems that they have no clue about. When the news is your best source on anything, just try to remember that you still have no clue what is going on. They'll just feed you the best lines to generate viewers and revenue, which is why you never hear a good story about the war. 'In today's news, nothing really happened in Iraq. Some soldiers encountered and Iraqi group, they were all friendly, and they even shared a meal together' doesn't sell. So remember, whatever you've been fed is not straight from the horse's mouth(ie from the original source), but from that horse's second cousin's mother-in-law, and you know how much that woman likes to gossip.

 

[WalkNasty]

I have no problem with women in direct combat. but i think they should also have to register for the selective service when they turn 18 like the men. i.e. the draft.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

They should get the same job offerings as long as they don't slow down the rest of the army.

 

[RicoADF]

*SNIP*
That is the only reason they don't want woman in the military and it isn't a good one if you ask me. They need to man up, pun intended, and deal.

Personally I'm not a big fan of women serving in the 'front line', however to me its because its the men's job to protect the family (including the wife) at home, so on the country's level that means the military would be mostly men involved in the fighting.
Having said that I'm not saying women don't have the capacity, nor am I saying they are unable to, I've just been brought up with the view that it's the males job to do the protecting (aka protect my missus from harm).
I know, its an old style of thinking, but its the way I've been brought up, and tbh in my view its degrading to see women having to defend themselves.

 

[Trebort]

You should give someone a job based on their ability to do that job and nothing else - there should be no gender boundaries, no race boundaries, no sexuality boundaries... just their ability to complete the tasks they are assigned to.

I agree with you.