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Essays, Opinion, & Commentary |
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June 20, 2002
by David A. Yeagley, Ph.D.
Most women shun violence. Combat is uncouth, unfeminine, and most women are completely incompetent at it. We honor women in non-contact sports like soccer, softball, or tennis, but we haven't yet accepted women in the trenches. Or haven't we? Xena: Warrior Princes, the popular fantasy TV show about an ancient, lethal beauty with sword in hand, enjoyed unprecedented global success. Xena showed how potent the dream of a fighting woman really is. History also has occasionally featured remarkable military heroines, like the ancient Hebrew leader Deborah (ca.1200 B.C.), or the more modern French leader, the Maid of Orleans, Joan of Arc (1412-1431). But today the U.S. Pentagon says women, in reality, can't do combat, and last May eight female soldiers training for RSTA squadrons were reassigned to less dangerous positions. Rowan Scarborough (Washington Times, May 30) reported recently that the Pentagon decided to reverse a Clinton administration policy, and bar women from Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition (RSTA) units, the kind that has been doing highly dangerous ground sweeps in the mountains of Afghanistan. The 1994 Defense Department policy already prohibited women from involvement in direct ground combat roles. When the RSTA brigades were created in 1999, the Clinton administration did not view them as direct combat units, but on April 26 the Army requested reclassification of RSTA squadrons from "P-2" (open to women) to "P-1" (closed to women). In February, Jon Dougherty reported two women's groups had already opposed the "absurd politically correct" military standards which they believe put U.S. defense and security forces at risk. The Center for Military Readiness and Concerned Women for America called for the elimination of such risk disguised as equality or political correctness. Sandy Rios, president of CWA, said "This is no longer a power game where ambitious women can try to advance their careers…this is a matter of life and death. Any claim that women are equal to men in combat settings is utterly irrational." In March the Department of Defense announced that it would change the charter of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service (DACOWITS), a half-century old civilian advisory committee which is now perceived as a feminist tool that has placed the U.S. military at risk with its subjective, gender-based agendas. Why didn't anyone listen to the Israeli Defense Forces back in 1977? A senior female officer said, "From the very nature of the army, you can't have quality of the sexes in it. A woman's just not built for fighting, physically or mentally." Psychologist Tamar Breznitz-Svidovsky reported that nearly 90% of Israeli women surveyed did not want to see women in combat. "Women scare too easily" and "Women are too weak" were the most common reasons. These quotes, and many others, were presented by Lesley Hazleton in Israeli Women: The Reality Behind the Myths (Simon & Schuster, 1977). Fighting Israeli women of the 1948 era earned the reputation of being unfeminine, as well as insignificant soldiers, according to Carol Clapsaddle ("Flight From Femminism," in Response: A Contemporary Jewish Review, 18 Summer 1973). They couldn't do much about their limited soldiering, but the unfeminine image was rigorously attacked in the 1970s with the advent of "beauty" contests in Israel. Well, Xena (Lucy Lawless) proved something. A beautiful woman who does combat is a creature of our imagination only. Xena also proved that, in today's politically correct environment, female homosexuality dominates the theme of the woman warrior. In the second season of Xena's American showing, Donna Minkowitz noted Xena's early homosexual theme, though she claimed it was Xena's strength and independence that made her a hit with women. ("Xena: She's Big, Tall, Strong-And Popular," in MS 1996 July/August.) So, is there room for a strong woman that isn't homosexual? Is their room for a woman who admires men for their strength in war, and yet herself remains humble and noble enough not to interfere with national security in the name of political correctness? Try Resa Kirkland, better known as "Americas War Chick," or "Rambo Brockovich." Resa supports Korean veterans, P.O.W.'s, and M.I.A.'s. The Korean War was America's first in a long, miserable line of non-declared wars after World War II, and first in the politically oriented conflicts in which our American government did not allow our men to win. Resa's rage is refreshing, and she is completely dedicated to honoring these government-abused warriors. Her style is a little risqué for some, a little rash for others, but certainly unique and valuable to all who care about men of war.
Dr. David A. Yeagley teaches humanities at the College of Liberal Studies, University of Oklahoma. His opinions are independent. He holds degrees from Yale, Emory, Oberlin, University of Arizona and University of Hartford. He is a member of the Comanche Tribe, Lawton, OK. E-mail him at badeagle2000@yahoo.com. Feel free to respond to this article in The Radical Academy Forum.
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