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Coincidentally, "Women in Combat"
is my "issue of the month,"
meaning that it's been on my
mind a lot. Recently I have
been asked related questions
on several occassions and each
time I have fine-tuned my perspective
thanks to other people's perspective.
I personally would not want
to be in combat, nor would I
choose personally choose it,
but I will fight for any other
woman to have the right to pursue
this track if she so desires.
(Just as I would support the
right for any man to be a stay-at-home
dad.)
Essentially, they are as capable
as men of doing this work and,
therefore, should be allowed
to. Also, it's unfair to men
if women can't pursue this or
be drafted. That has always
been my opinion and I have come
across a few women who have
been in combat and who prove
that women can in fact handle
being in combat.
The latest development in my
opinion is that I now think
it's really important for women
to be in combat, because it
will push at gender stereotypes
and challenge us to think of
everything that women are capable
of - i.e. that women are as
strong as men and can have the
same "killer instinct." It's
important to not glorify women
- and I think this darker side
of life is important for us
to see women in, too. I hope
I'm making sense. You also might
want to reference the work of
Cynthia Enloe - who has a recent
book out on this topic.
—Amy
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