Heroism Knows No Gender There is no stereotype for heroism, no prediction of human behavior under stress, and no formula for courage. Both women and men perform incredible acts of bravery every day when presented with dangerous situations. Bravery is an individual characteristic, it is not about male or female strength or ability. The reality is that there is absolutely no intelligent, logical, or sensible reason for women not to be in combat roles within the Armed Forces, given the technological style of warfare that abounds today.
There are political, patriarchal, religious, and misogynistical reasons to preclude women, but they belong in "The Museum of Natural Idiocy," next to chastity belts, urban legends, homophobia, and military machismo. The antiquated concepts that fill the closed minds of the "brotherhood of the sword," (the military establishment) with its "tailhook" mentality and its martinetistic attitude have created a state of mind that has polluted everything from Congress to the media.
English: Detail of Preamble to Constitution of the...
United States
United StatesAmerica's stance on equal rights would seem to guarantee equal opportunity for all citizens, regardless of gender. Since the Preamble to the Constitution states "We the people. . ." it should follow that equal rights apply not only to men, but also to women. Women do not have a different Constitution, so why do they have a different set of rules? What does it say to other countries when we defend freedom and equality of rights, and then we do not give those same rights to the women serving to defend the very freedoms that found this country? War knows no gender. When USS COLE was attacked in Yemen, the bomb did not just kill men, it killed indiscriminately. The hand of death reached across that ship taking all in its grasp. Two of the seventeen service members that died, were women.