critical thinking

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Women in the Military

Sharva Harris

Concorde Career College

Dr. Mark Arandia

June 17, 2021

Beliefs on Women in the Military

There are many beliefs that have existed on the role of both men and women in society. The military to be specific has been viewed as a role for the men and even the largest percentage of the people in the military are men. Even though women are increasingly being involved in military roles, most of them are excluded from war roles where the use of heavy firearms is common. This is due to the perception that women are inferior and some of these roles require more energy than women can provide. Even though the United States defense department has opened up more slots for women to join the military, there are hindrances and barriers that have seen most of these opportunities go to waste. The traditional beliefs that some of the roles such as fighting in wars belong to men pose one of the biggest challenges (Trobaugh, 2018). There are also beliefs that women if allowed to involve in the military will end up interfering with group bonding and cohesion which is a crucial element in the military. Women are believed to be responsible for bringing up children and taking care of their families. In the military, only a small percentage of women have families, therefore, acting as a barrier. Women are also believed to be emotionally weak and prone to stress and, therefore, not suitable for the military (Ables, 2019).

Source of Women in the Military Beliefs

Most of these beliefs come from members in the society where they tend to associate and view women as a weak gender compared to their male counterparts. These members of the society describe the military as a role that requires huge energy contributions recommending women to other light roles that require only small energy inputs. Women are, therefore, ascribed to perform light roles where they can comfortably contribute without struggling, while men are preferred for these heavy jobs that require the use of heavy energy. The attitude of society towards women in the military is also a source of these beliefs. The attitude that women should not be involved in combat while in the military discourages most of the women from joining the military. Women are believed to be caretakers of the family and therefore, their duties should always revolve around the family. Society believes that the role of taking care of the family belongs to women and therefore, roles that force women to be away from the family for long such as being in the military are seen as roles that belong to men.

Research involved

In my research, I used several references and even involved some members of the community in discussing their views on the topic. I gathered all the information and views raised from the various members to come up with my answers on the beliefs on the role of women in the military. Different scholarly works have also been established on this topic from where I gathered information that was very helpful to my research. In my culture, women are also viewed as family people, and being aware of the family might result in the falling of the family bonds. I have believed that women should take care of the family which entails their physical presence to guide their children to grow in the right morals and correct them whenever mistakes are made.

Effects of the Beliefs on Women in the Military

These beliefs on women in the military have had tremendous effects on the women willing to join the military. In some societies, women who join the military are viewed as strays from the societal culture and practices. Therefore, women in these societies fear joining the military with the view of getting disconnected from their families. In some real cases, some women have lost bonds with their families for joining the military after which they are rejected. Sexism has also resulted in people forming stereotypes against women, where women are forced to prove themselves as being able to perform their roles in the military which at times requires the use of a lot of energy (Moore, 2019). Many women have also had to opt for other career options due to gender bias involved and the standards set by the community on the role of women.

REFERENCES

Conkright, W. R., Beckner, M. E., Sinnott, A. M., Eagle, S. R., Martin, B. J., Lagoy, A. D., ... & Nindl, B. C. (2021). Neuromuscular Performance and Hormonal Responses to Military Operational Stress in Men and Women. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 35(5), 1296-1305.

Moore, B. A. (2019). Understanding and working within the military culture

Women aren’t the problem. Standards are. (2019, February 4). Modern War Institute.  https://mwi.usma.edu/women-arent-problem-standards/

Women, regardless: Understanding gender bias in U.S. military integration. (2018, January 9). National Defense University Press.  https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Publications/Article/1411860/women-regardless-understanding-gender-bias-in-us-military-integration/