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Analysis Of 'The Price Of Discretion' By Mary Louise Roberts

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Mary Louise Roberts in “The Price of Discretion: Prostitution, Venereal Disease, and the American Military in France, 1944-1946” discusses what American GIs did in France with regard to sexual relations, and Roberts criticizes American hypocrisy by having self-contradictory (double-standard) attitudes toward sex. Jeffrey Burds in “Sexual Violence in Europe in World War II, 1939-1945” points out the sexual brutality during World War II conducted by both German Soldiers and Soviet Soldiers. Roberts discusses the relationship among prostitution, venereal diseases, and the U.S. army in France. U.S. officials believed that sex with other men other than the Americans contributed to the spread of VD, and sought to control the men with whom the women in the brothel had sex. The Americans had invaded France, although the country was still an ally of America, confusion was raised when it came to sexual policy management because American on the one hand blame high venereal …show more content…

Even though civilians and soldiers were equally responsible for the sexual atrocities committed against the women, there is barely a single lawsuit case against them, and I think it may have been due to the lack of clarity of the laws regarding rape. Soldiers were allowed to get away with such crimes without punishment, and punishing the civilians and soldiers could have been double standards. Also, for Soviet soldiers, by using the term ‘vengeance’ to explain their abuse of sex on German women seems not sufficient. I argue that originally making female subject to male dominance in any sense is a way of showing men’s masculinity. Apart from protecting women and children in Soviet villages, Soviet soldiers in Germany were showing their strength and virility to German soldiers that they were able to beat and defeat them, not only from battlefield (physically) but also in Germany women’s bedrooms.

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