WOMEN WARRIORS
[This posting was written last week, but I accidentally left it on "draft" and it didn't appear on the site.--vp 4/14]
Phil Carter has some thoughtful comments on women warriors, and a link to a Slate discussion on the subject, between Debra Dickerson and Stephanie Gutmann.
I'm a pragmatist on this subject, which is why I like the tone and content of Phil's post. But it's important to remember that a truly pragmatic assessment includes remembering what women can do, which is a lot. The military needs their skills.
Pragmatism also means acknowledging, as Phil does, that women are not uniquely subject to brutalization and torture as POWs. Well-intended men may believe that women's suffering is worse than men's--evolution has probably programmed us to think that way--but it isn't. And those who worry about the fates of female POWs tend to forget that women have always been the victims and spoils of war (ever hear the phrase, "rape and pillage"?). Women warriors simply have a chance to fight back.