Here’s a money quote from one of her sexyful deconstructions:
Women are too physically weak for the battlefield.
While it is indisputable that the average man has more upper-body strength than the average woman, women have different physical abilities that enable them to offer unique capabilities in combat.
Distance running is one such arena, and it’s relevant because combat can be as much about physical endurance (sustaining activity over time) as physical strength. According to a study analyzing track-and-field records and published in the journal Nature in 1992, the gaps between male and female performance narrow as the distance is extended, and some studies show that at ultramarathon distances (100 miles or more), women with equal training as their male counterparts outperform men.
Researchers theorize that women’s ability to metabolize fat more efficiently contributes to their endurance and success in longer runs. Women also tolerate hot and humid racing conditions better than men because of their smaller body size, according to a 1999 article in the European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology.
Foot patrols involve carrying 50 to 100 pounds of equipment for miles at a time, and I’ve seen male Marines who can bench-press 300 pounds but struggle to walk two miles with 50 pounds of gear. And you don’t have to bench-press 300 pounds to pull a trigger. If a woman passes the physical requirements, why shouldn’t she get the chance to fight?
Sorry….the author is just wrong on these assertions.
As far as leadership goes, I’d say it’s possible but there’s going to be a lot of problems, but that’s a wash.
About males becoming distracted….it’ll happen a bit. It may not be a show-stopper. But, it’s going to happen. More importantly, this is not a myth. This is something concocted by the author to provide another example in the “good” column. Doesn’t really count when you are wiping out a myth that doesn’t exist. If anything were to happen as far as distractions are concerned, the males would try to leave the females behind and prevent them from being integrated in the unit – rather than being distracted with the urge to protect the women.
As far as sexual tension, this is one area where the author loses all credibility. Obviously the author has conveniently decided to ignore the covert meetings that take place in male/female units, the increased levels of harassment that take place, pregnancy etc. I can’t begin to state how misguided those comments are by the MAJ. She was treated as a Marine because of her rank – perhaps she should get down in the weeds, and in the living quarters, etc with the lower enlisted and try that one for a while. Sexual tension and temptation are huge issues. Blows me away that anyone would say otherwise.
Now, as for women being too emotionally fragile…want to know where that comes from? It comes from women being too emotionally fragile in other work environments, including the military. This is one area that I do believe integration would prove to rectify this issue. The same environments women show this fragile nature are the same environments where a lot of men show the same quality. It’s a product of training and the work environment, in my opinion. Isolated and sparse examples will not dispel this myth. Only way to dispel it is to integrate the genders in combat, in frontline units.
Finally…as for women being physically weaker than men. Yes, without a doubt that is the case. It is astounding that the author points to endurance, fat burning, and RUNNING as evidence women can perform on the battlefield. At this point I’d have to argue that the MAJ has not done any patrolling, and certainly not in the mountains. Running has ZERO to do with your ability to haul you, your kit, and an injured buddy around the battlefield. A box of 7.62 weighs what a box of 7.62 weighs…so strength does matter. Oh, and highlighting an example of a male that did poorly with 50lbs doses nothing to show that a woman can haul that gear. I’ve seen this play out many times, during PT – whether it’s ammo or kettlebells, weight is weight. I’d be willing to bet the MAJ looks great in front of a formation, running along in PTs, with no kit. But her comments about running and how that could possibly, ever, somehow, equate to wearing kit and humping the mountains shows a complete and utter ignorance about what it takes to move around on the battlefield. Bottom line, you better have some strength if you’re going to haul me out of a burning vehicle after I’ve been knocked out by an IED. Very, very few females can do that. Many, many males can.
We can definitely make room for some, a few women in combat. But to think it can just go completely unrestricted is folly.