Women in Military Combat:
Should They Be Treated Equally? Should women in military combat be treated equally? There are varying views on whether women in military combat should be treated equally. For example, some people believe that women should be treated as an equal to men in combat. Others feel as though women should be treated inferior to men while involved in military combat. Furthermore, some women are very capable of fighting, but not always as strong as men making this topic very controversial across the United States still today. Also, men are typically born emotionally stronger than women and their reactions and reaction times to the issues that arise during combat differ vastly. “Today, 214,098 women serve in the U.S. Military, representing 14.6% of total service members” (Let Women Fight, The Allyn & Bacon Guide To Writing, 341). As of today there have been multiple female soldiers awarded for being actively involved in military combat with enemies. For example, the very first female soldier was awarded the Silver Star in 2005. Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester, a female member of The Kentucky National Guard was the recipient of this honorable award. She won the award after she and her team were ambushed by the enemy and she successfully led her
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“Further, the 1948 Women’s Armed Services Integration Act created a permanent corps of women in all the military departments” (Let Women Fight, The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing, 341). Recent policy changes have caused confusion between the distinction between support roles and actual combat roles. Since women are allowed to serve in support units, the barrier that once existed to keep them from combat has almost disappeared. Meanwhile the U.S. military is searching to find a method to recognize the fact that women fight in wars. As time marches on, the idea of women in combat is becoming more and more accepted in the United
In the United States, women weren’t allowed to join the military until the beginning of the twentieth century. This law, however, didn’t stop northerner Deborah Sampson. Like a modern era Mulan, Sampson dressed up as a man in the continental army during the Revolutionary War. Deborah Sampson showed perseverance, bravery, and a disregard for gender norms as she fought alongside unsuspecting men for over two years, earning herself a rightful place in the history books that has yet to be properly represented. Deborah Sampson was born into a poor family in the southeastern part of Massachusetts and worked as an indentured servant for 12 years as she grew up.
INTRO There is a very diverse issue of the impact World War 2 had upon the lives of women in Australia. On one hand, women contributed massively to the war effort. However, they were also made ‘fun of’ and were valued as less than men. VALUED
In fact, World War II was a “women’s war.” Brave women used their skill, and their immense patriotism and dedication to their families to become valuable assets to the Allies. Women’s roles in society changed considerably during World War II. They played a significant role in jobs both on and off the front lines. Women took on roles outside of the home in addition to their “traditional roles” such as watching the children and cleaning the house.
The women of the early 20th century showed that they have the ability to be productive in the work place and fight for the greater good of the United States of America. In modern times women have started joining combat roles in the military and increasing in demographical size in the military. This has shown that women are striving to be more equal to men in all aspects of modern life. By showing they can fight in wars and hold their own against our nations enemies they can and will be seen as equals. The public celebration of women’s history in the United States began in 1978.
Many women dressed like men to fight in the war to show not all women are weak. No soldiers in the fight knew women were upon them until after they were wounded or killed. Most of the time women joined the fight to be with a relative or their fiances and/or husbands because they didn’t want them to be alone in the fight and they never wanted to let them go. Not only did women fight on the
The Effect of Women on the Outcome of World War Two World War II effected women tremendously by taking them out of their comfort zones and chucking them into the work force and pushing them to do most of the work men normally would have been doing. The war also effected women by providing opportunities for them to serve in non-traditional roles; in fact, some of them enlisted into the military to serve the United States. The way the war effected women is that they had to take care of family in addition to performing work normally done by men. It was difficult to find people to watch after kids which made life during this time very difficult. After the end of World War II society in general was effected considering the baby boom.
Women were viewed as the weaker sex. They were thought to be fragile and dependent. Gender roles were strictly divided with the woman placed firmly in the home, in charge of domestic tasks and childcare. However, when their husbands, sons, fathers and brothers joined the military during the Civil War, many women obtained new roles at home. Others decided to assist the war effort as nurses, spies and even soldiers.
The Civil War African American men and women roles in the civil war Name Affiliation Date Introduction In 1861, most African American men welcomed the beginning of the civil war when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina after the inauguration of the U.S president Abraham Lincoln. Most of the African American men served as guards for railways and bridges, scouts and spies in addition to their participation in the war fighting troops (Smith, 2002). Because of the suffering at home, thousands of the enslaved African American women began the transition to freedom and began new lives regardless of the horrors of the civil war (Blanton and Wike, 2002).
Women were well suited for providing nourishment and necessities for the army due to their skills obtained by their accustomed housework. “...the American army often recruited the many female camp followers to fill these jobs” (Brooks 2013, para. 17). They had slowly began to achieve recognition in society, especially war. It was then, that woman had begun to silently “protest” on having the same equal opportunity as men. During the war, women created a role for themselves to side amongst the male soldiers: a secret soldier.
In the feature article “All Guts, No Glory”, I agree with the author Molly M. Ginty, that women participating in combat. If I was in the military some of the things that might affect me would be probably because of my gender. First, women would not be put into battle because people think women cannot handle the work or bloodshed. They think women are better off bring a nurse for helping men in battle if they get injured. Second, they think women in combat would be a distraction.
Women are more powerful than they are perceived to be. During World War I and more prominently known during World War II, women took the jobs that men left behind when they were called for the draft therefore taking on the role as men. Although women have been allowed into the military since the times of World War I, they were not allowed into combat units, until 2013. As women have earned the opportunity to be in combat units, the next step would be allowing them to be included in the military draft. Women should be included in the military draft because it would allow them to be more equal to men, they would be able to see themselves as strong and capable, and it would change the way men view women.
Women played an important roles during World War II throughout the world; they gave their time, energy, and some even gave their lives. The War also transformed women's roles in the workplace and society, but for many, it did not last forever. Many had to do work that men did before the war. However, most of the works needed professional and outstanding skills. Nearly 350,000 American women served in uniform, volunteering for numerous reserves and corps.
In the book written by (Gavin, 1997) it was cited that “As women took over from their absent men in hundreds of new and challenging occupations, many of which had previously been considered inappropriate”. From the beginning of the World War 1, the German women were participating a great deal. They contributed to half a million-people working on the munitions manufacturing alone (Gavin, 1997). It also mentioned in the book that over in the U.S, the men in charge refused to let the women participate up until April 1917 (Gavin, 1997). The U.S government never formally authorize the enrolment of women, despite Army officials repeatedly asking for such personnel’s.
But it wasn’t till May 1942 that congress began to allow women to enroll in the U.S Army, and by 1945 there were over 6,000 female officers at work (History.com Staff, 2010). Roughly 350,000 women joined the armed services and served both at home and abroad. (History.com Staff, 2010). During this war a group of women called WASPs, or Women’s Airforce Service Pilots were the first women to fly an American Military aircraft (History.com Staff, 2010). There were also women in the army who helped build weapons, planes, bombs and even tanks to help the soldiers fighting World War Two (“Rosie the Riveter - U-S-History.com”).
The gender role in military as women categorized and stereotyped by men has never been easy. Military does not require muscular or gender power for leadership in combat or command positions. Some men believe that women in command will weaken the military tradition or military in context. The gender role of “women” and “soldiers” proved to many that is uncontested in World War I and II when women served as auxiliaries. Women have a long history of service in the military.