As the elections are fast approaching, the news has been swarming over the “war on women” in regards to women’s bodies and reproductive. However, there is currently another war on women going on that is literally on the frontlines in combat. Recently, there has been talk amongst officials in the Pentagon about easing restrictions on women in combat, opening up over 14,000 active-duty and reserve jobs that women have been denied access to. While this would be a significant gain for women in combat, it does not address the fact that women are still not allowed to be on the front lines of war. Discussions in the Pentagon began when officials realized that women were more exposed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq than previous wars. Women have always had a role in war, but they have primarily been relegated to behind the scene support jobs. Recognition of women in war is long overdue, but the military is finally coming around. However, easing restrictions on women in combat does not put them on the front lines where they deserve to be if they so desire.[1]
In March 2003, Iraqi insurgents captured Shoshana Johnson and held her and seven other members of her unit captive for three weeks until the U.S. Marines saved her. Johnson was involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom when her unit got separated and was ambushed in the city of Nasiriyah. Johnson became the first black female to be a prisoner of war. In an article Johnson wrote for The Daily Beast, Johnson shows her feminist colors in the women in combat debate. Johnson notes that there are some who believe the military is right to not let women fight, in which she responds by saying that these people do not know what it means to be a female, and furthermore a female in the military. Johnson explains that the top three arguments of why women should not fight in war have to do with rape, injury, and last, but most insulting in Johnson’s eyes, the notion that women are not able enough to do the job. In terms of rape, Johnson argues that, “rape is a crime, not a justification” for making the claim that woman should not take part in war.[2] Rape is not a new phenomenon and it is not specific to war. On the contrary, thousands of women are raped on a yearly basis and the majority of rape crimes take place outside of the military. So why then, Johnson asks, should it be discussed at length in the women in combat debate? Johnson’s biggest suggestion is to educate men until they are aware that rape in an actual crime that cannot be overlooked. “Instead of suggesting that women refrain from certain jobs, we must make men understand that they have no right to take what has not been given.”[3]
Johnson then moves on to the discussion of women, injury, and death. Johnson and other female soldiers that she was stationed with were all assigned to support jobs because those are considered to have a lower level of risk. What the military has yet to realize though is that in unconventional warfare, like what is being fought in today’s wars, everyone is at risk. Johnson’s ankles were injured before she was taken as a prisoner of war and she saw many other women get injured or die, despite the supposed level of lower risk. In war, everyone’s lives are at risk, men and women alike. Moreover, restricting women from combat jobs where injury and death are thought to be more likely is consequently restricting women from top positions that they may be more qualified than men to fill.
Johnson’s last point is in response to those who believe women are not able to do the job. Johnson puts it quite bluntly by mocking this belief and saying that this shouldn’t even be a question. From Johnson’s point of view, men and women come in varying shapes, sizes, and strengths. A man might have stronger biceps, but their legs may not be as strong as a woman’s. Physical strength is a quality that can be tested so anyone who is not able to do the job will be eliminated, male or female.
A strong advocate for women in combat is Senator Scott Brown, who served a lieutenant colonel and thirty-two year veteran of the Massachusetts National Guard. Brown makes the case that our country has to recognize the sacrifices women have made in war and allow them to expand their professional opportunities. Thus, they should be able to serve in front line positions if they so please. Brown brings up the idea of the “red tape”, which is a reference to excessive bureaucratic regulation that keeps women from fighting on the front lines. According to Brown, our bureaucratic government needs to break free from the red tape to acknowledge the potential of female combatants alongside their male counterparts.[5]
According to poll conducted at Quinnipiac University, seventy five percent of Americans support women serving in combat. In addition, GOP candidates have been generally open to the idea as well. Gingrich weighed in on the debate, making the point that anyone serving the country is at danger given the environment of total warfare, while Santorum had a different opinion on the matter. During an interview on the Today Show, Santorum expresses his concern about women in combat physically and emotionally. Santorum wonders, “how men would react to seeing women in harm’s way, or potentially being injured or in a vulnerable position, and not being concerned about accomplishing the mission.”[6] Santorum’s stance on the matter is rather disconcerting because he is reinforcing the very basis of patriarchy that men feel the need to protect women who are less powerful than them and more vulnerable. Furthermore, he is implying that women would be a distraction from the actual mission at hand. Santorum’s remarks clearly did not sit well with female soldiers who felt insulted by his ignorance. From a feminist perspective, Santorum is associating emotions with women because of the patriarchal and cultural structures in society that have created this stereotype. Without getting overtly political, there could be some serious set backs for women in combat if Santorum were to be put into office, based his recent remarks.[7]
Johnson’s article is interesting in relation to a variety of hot feminist topics. It sheds light on Susan Douglas’ “Warrior Women”, “The Ideology of True Womanhood”, and Johnson and Frye’s discussion on patriarchy and societal systems. Bringing all of these ideas together, it is clear when you read between the lines of the debate that a lot of it has to do with the patriarchal system that keeps women in the private sphere. In “Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, Them, or an Us”, Johnson states:
“To see the world through patriarchal eyes is to believe that women and men are profoundly different in their basic natures, that hierarchy is the only alternative to chaos, and that men were made in the image of a masculine God with whom they enjoy a special relationship.”
Johnson discusses warfare in relationship to patriarchy, pointing out that is a common misconception to think that men are naturally aggressive. In war, it actually becomes quite obvious that this is not the case and that men are, for the most part, following paths of least resistance and acting out of fear. Nonetheless, the military continues to promote a patriarchal system based on the idea that it is natural for men to go to war.[8] Going back to (Shoshana) Johnson, there is no doubt that she was a true fighter in war and as a prisoner of war. Johnson experienced realities of war that most male soldiers never come into contact with. To deny women the right to fight on the front lines is to say that men and women are not equal in war and that the patriarchal system is in place for a reason. When the military is revered as a powerful and symbolic institution in our society, such a system needs to be broken in order for women to make gains towards equality. In Johnson’s defense, it should not even be a question anymore about women fighting on the front lines when they have sacrificed their lives for our country. The Pentagon did make a significant policy change for women, but it is not enough to really change the system that has become so problematic. Johnson’s concluding remarks are particularly powerful in response to policy changes and advocating for women in combat:
“What it comes down to is that women have been fighting from the beginning of time. Who kept farms running and children fed when the men went off to fight each other? Women were fighting in their own way. From birth, we have fought for our voice to be heard, for our contribution to be acknowledged, to live in a world without fear. Now we fight alongside the men in war. The recent policy change is a step in accomplishing the equality we have long been denied—but it’s not a big enough step. I will not hide my strength. I am not going to the back of the bus.”[4]
Works Cited
Bohon, Dave . "GOP Presidential Candidates Cave in on Women in Combat." The New American. http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/10981-gop-presidential-candidates-cave-in-on-women-in-combat (accessed February 24, 2012).
Cloud, David. "Pentagon to ease restrictions on women in combat - latimes.com." Los Angeles Times - California, national and world news - latimes.com. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-pentagon-women-20120209,0,5107352.story (accessed February 24, 2012). (Additional Reference)
Johnson, Shoshana . "Former POW Shoshana Johnson: The Military Is Keeping Women Down - The Daily Beast." The Daily Beast. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/02/24/former-pow-shoshana- johnson-is-fed-up-with-the-military-s-stance-on-women-in-combat.html (accessed February 24, 2012).
Johnson. “Patriarchy, the System: An it, Not a He, a Them, or an Us””
[1] Bohon, Dave . "GOP Presidential Candidates Cave in on Women in Combat." The New American. http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/10981-gop-presidential-candidates-cave-in-on-women-in-combat (accessed February 24, 2012).
[2] Johnson, “Former POW Shoshana Johnson: The Military Is Keeping Women Down”.
[3] Johnson, Shoshana . "Former POW Shoshana Johnson: The Military Is Keeping Women Down." The Daily Beast. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/02/24/former-pow-shoshana-johnson-is-fed-up-with-the-military-s-stance-on-women-in-combat.html (accessed February 24, 2012).
[4] Johnson. “Former POW Shoshana Johnson: The Military Is Keeping Women Down”.
[5] Bohon, ‘GOP Presidential Candidates Cave in on Women in Combat.”
[6] Bohon, ‘GOP Presidential Candidates Cave in on Women in Combat.”
[7] Bohon, ‘GOP Presidential Candidates Cave in on Women in Combat.”
[8] Johnson, “Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us.”
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