Argumentative Essay: Women's Roles In The Military

As women begin to integrate more into the male aspects of society, one of the most controversial integrations would have to be women’s new roles in the military. The military has been a male dominated entity since the beginning of historical records unless you consider the amazons of Greek mythology to be real. Since the military has always been male dominated and women are having a growing role in it, the military tradition and ways of doing things will also be affected. Most would agree that men and woman are both unequal when it comes to physical strength, a trait which is important military combat. Another physical truth about women and not men is that women can get pregnant which opens a variety of issues in the military. None the less, women still can play in crucial roles in the military that don’t necessarily involve combat. Military tradition and lifestyle is changing as more women continue to enlist in it. The military has been masculine and also what you could say “macho”, it is a hierarchal institution with a primary goal of dealing with and destroying the enemy. Most critics who say women will change the fabric that keeps the military together is that women will feminize the military. “… critics have typically sounded alarms about the ‘feminization’ of the armed forces.

Men and women are not the same in physical capability and since the military standard has been structured to a man’s strength, this means women are less capable physically to compete to those standards. “Men are over 30% stronger than women” (Heidi). This fact along with height and larger bodies mean women will have a harder time performing in physical and combat roles. “The Marine Corps recently announced that male and female Marines must meet the same physical standards” (Schogol). These standards will not be lowered for women and both men and women will be expected to perform the