I will never let my daughter join the military. I know this is somewhat foolish, as someday she will be eighteen and headstrong (okay, more headstrong). But it’s not just a mother’s simple wish to keep her daughter out of harm’s way. It’s because of this article in Salon. Seventy-one percent of women veterans of Vietnam and wars since report being raped or sexually assaulted while in the military.
Seventy-one percent! What kind of culture are we living in that this is actually happening. . .and no one is talking about it. Donald Rumsfeld, no champion of women’s rights, set up a task force to investigate the sexual assaults persisting in Iraq. But it hasn’t helped enough. In a war with no front line or safety zone, women are not only fearing the IEDs of the enemy, they must fear the behavior of their comrades. And while some could argue that women shouldn’t be at war anyway, I don’t think that’s relevant right now. We have too few soldiers as it is, we can’t afford to send 15% of them home.
The Salon article says this: “There are only three kinds of female the men let you be in the military: a bitch, a ho or a dyke,” said Montoya, the soldier who carried a knife for protection. “This guy out there, he told me he thinks the military sends women over to give the guys eye candy to keep them sane. He said in Vietnam they had prostitutes to keep them from going crazy, but they don’t have those in Iraq. So they have women soldiers instead.”
It amazes me that attitudes like that still exist. But obviously they do. And they’re doing more than just offending feminists. When I googled this subject to find more sources, the first twenty-five hits were about Iraqi women being raped by American soldiers. And while that is horrifying and disgusting in itself, it shocks me even more that no one is writing about what is happening to American citizens. These women are fighting for our country and this is how we thank them? I’d rather stay at Walter Reed than be a female soldier alone after dark in Iraq.
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3 users commented in " My Daughter Will Never Join the Military "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackback“There are only three kinds of female the men let you be in the military: a bitch, a ho or a dyke,” said Montoya
nope, there is another type: The tomboy, the girl who likes boys but gets along with them.
As for the attitude, any woman worth her salt can handle it. When the “boys” told dirty jokes to upset the secretaries, I told a dirtier one. When they played a practical joke, I played a bigger practical joke back. I grew up with brothers, and knew how to play the game.
And tell you the truth, most of the men may joke like that, but will risk their lives protecting the gals.
oh yes: Why do you go to Salon to find out about military attitudes? Few on the left join the military, so how would they know. Instead ask someone who’s been there.
Or are you one of those people who doesn’t know anyone in the military?
My husband is a veteran, I was National Guard, and our son in law is military. You have insulted all of us.
There have women repaed n the military, but men have been raped as well. Rape is a crime of violence that is not sexual, even the sexual anotomy is used in committing the crime. As a female US army veteran I endured the stereotypes heaped upon women in the military. Even so I would say that the military is a good for a women to develop her strength. If you believe the media, no women is safe in the military. The women who are there learn to deal with the issues and when they do they become stronger. The media is sensationalizing the whole issue. Please do not deny your daughter he right to serve her country. I can promise you that if you tell her you don’t want her to do this and that is the FIRST thing she will want.
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