Proposal

Proposal: My proposal for the issues regarding women in the Army’s infantry is very straightforward. If a woman can handle the physical demands of the job, she should be given the same opportunity to participate as any man.  I understand many women could not and do not wish to do so, but some do. If a woman is  able to  meet the physical and mental demands of the infantry they should not be held back on account of her gender. The current laws of the Army do just that. These laws should be revised to avoid purely sexist selection.

Introduction                 

Throughout history women have been regarded as inferior to men. The women of the United States have a long history of suffrage in an attempt to gain equality. In the modern day women are said to have the same opportunities as any man, yet there are still many positions within the military that remain closed to all females, this includes the infantry division of the Army. These restrictions are born out of five basic arguments; women do not posses the physical strength to succeed on the front lines, the personal hygiene issues of women would interfere with living in the field, women are too valuable as the child bearer’s of society, women would not be able to deploy because of pregnancy, and women in infantry would disrupt the all male cohesiveness of a unit. Each of these arguments, while perhaps born of genuine concern, are now sexist notions that do not have a place in modern day America.

Main pints:

                  “Women are not strong enough”

-        Today there is much less importance on physical strength, warfare is more often conducted with guns and missiles than arrows and swords

-        Though many women are much weaker than men, this is a stereotype that overshadows the potential of many motivated women. Women have the potential to have up to 70 % of a mans upper body strength, and 90-95% of a mans cardio vascular endurance.

“Hygiene issues”

- In the past men and women have lived in close quarters, and survived by using simply common sense

 “ Non deployment because of pregnancy”

-        This also stereotypes all women together, suggesting every woman will or wants to be pregnant. This argument could be made and used to exclude women from any job (Doctors, CEO, professional athletes)- but this reasoning only stands in the military.

-        Many men are excluded from deployment because of personal injury (sports, accidents)

-        If a woman works hard enough to prepare her self for an infantry position, chances are she will avoid pregnancy

“ Women are the child bearer’s of society, and should not be endangered in such a way”

  - This is simple, and illegal sexism. (Provide definitions and examples)

“ It would deter from the cohesion of an all male unit, thereby endangering lives”

-        Study’s suggest this is untrue

-        The same argument was made regarding racial integration of army units, and proved (though initially difficult) to hold no merit.

 

Sources:

http://usacac.army.mil/CAC/milreview/English/NovDec02/NovDec02/wojack.pdf

-        I also plan to use Canadian statistics and studies , as they are the only country that currently permits women to serve in the infantry.

-        I intend to use physiological studies that provide evidence regarding a woman’s physical capability