Running head: Women In the Draft

Should Women Be Allowed to Enter the Draft, Just like Men?

Hannah Towne
Kirtland Community College
English 104
Professor Hornof
1 April 2016

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Should Women Be Allowed to Enter the Draft, Just Like Men?

Through my research I have learned that women entering the military, has been a huge
grey area in the United States for a long time. What few seem to understand is the fact that,
change is bound to happen. With this being a grey area there has been many researchers that
have fought, for equality and to find the the pros and cons of the situation. Wilmoth, J. M.,
London, A. S., & Parker, W. M (2011) conducted many researches about the difference and
limitations of the opposite sex. It dug deep into the research behind limitations and disabilities
that were said to be more prevalent in females within the military. Many other articles
explained very important topics regarding differences between males and females within military
conditions. Throughout the following articles research suggests, that even though things are
slowly getting better and better, there are somethings that have yet to change.
Military Draft and Combat
Since long before the Vietnam War the military has advertised for Cookie Cutter
Soldiers. Those people have been the representation of the military for longer than the
history of the military itself. The last draft to be placed was for the Vietnam War, this
caused a multitude of military distrust (Armor, 1996). After the Vietnam War ended,
there was a huge drop of recruitments and the government began to worry about the lack
of manpower. In the early 2000s it was nearly impossible to find anyone who was
willing to join.

Galston (2004), states that the reason behind this was that no one

wanted to go through the brutal training experience necessary. Soon enough they began

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all volunteer forces as an alternative for drafts. This began to be known as the All
Volunteer Forces or AVF . The AVF would state that joining the military was a key
step, to becoming a good citizen (Galston, 2004). The big grab to get people to join, was
telling them that your experience doesn't matter and everyone is an equal. When the
AVF first started they didn't have an abundance of people willing to join. However in the
80s they began to have an increase of recruitment. These people mostly joined in non
combatant units such as the United States Airforce or Navy, Stated Armor (1996). There
is a large fear factor regarding military actions and jobs. However Titunik (2000) stated,
that war is a necessary evil, and war as a whole is one of the most organized and most
dangerous organized fighting.
With the increase of people joining, there was an issue of rights and benefits that
our soldiers weren't getting. The government wanted to begin to tax the troops, this was
soon vetoed when citizens and troops began fighting back. People began to say, We are
in a nation where we have to pay to earn our citizenship. So our life is a series of paying
for what we have, yet we are expected to gain everything though our blood and sweat
(Galston, 2004). Most of our troops go unnoticed by the public and by the world all
together. Units such as the National Guard are rarely found within school textbooks let
alone mentioned in everyday life. Yet they are frontline soldiers who go just as treturous
experience as our marines, or other more elite forces (Coffman, 2000). Not only have
things been hidden from our textbooks. Even race and gender has proven to affect
likelihoods of joining the military during earlier years. It wasn't until after the Civil
court issued a ruling that anyone from any background, education, sex or race could be

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allowed to enter. Arguments towards everything involving the military has been here for
such a long time. Rules and demographics should not play a role if you are more then
qualified for the position.
Demographics
People joining the military is very important and necessary. Even though it is
necessary people have been turned away based on petty things such as race and gender.
The inequality was mainly towards women and African Americans. During this time
period this study showed most of the population was made up of white males, new
enlistees who were women or different races had been substantially lower. By the late
90s only 30% of the military was made up of African Americans (Armor, 1996). Soon
enough limited jobs were opened for African Americans to join and serve in the military.
However there were still many benefit and revenue issues (Stiehm, 2003). It wasn't until
many years after that all ranks were open for African Americans to join. Soon enough no
one could be turned away merely based on gender or race.
Nowadays the biggest issue revolves around women and homosexuals states,
Armor (1996). When the doors began to open there was a large abundance of sexual
misconduct cases (Titunik, 2000). As the years went on more and more cases began
coming up. These cases regarded mostly women but also some homosexuals. They were
being sexually abused during bootcamps and other private situations. Very few could go
forward with these cases because some were merely heresay. However there is no doubt
that the majority of these cases did take place within the militaries walls. The militaries
only statement during this time period was that Uniqueness wasn't part of the military

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code and expectations. Ultimately women are now the biggest problem and the ones who
are getting discriminated against fully. People are stuck on the belief that women have
roles and duties that are not in the military.
Gender Roles
Since the beginning of time women have been labeled under certain gender
rules they must follow. Women are seen as nothing more than innocent and weak states,
Silva (2008). A woman's job is simply to stay at home and care for the house and
children within it. The sad truth is women are seen as sexual objects, making rights
within the military that much harder. In fact to this day only 15% of our Military
manpower, consists of women (Armor,1996). However few completely understand that
fact that women have been connected and part of the Military, for longer than most
realize (Wilmoth, Landon & Parker, 2011). Things are not always black and white and
barriers are meant to be broken. Especially with the influx of women joining AVF forces
more and more every year.
After the first 10 years of the volunteer forces, women began to enter as well as
many different races. However because they were not seen as equals in the beginning,
very few women took the chance. As years went by more women began to join, and their
numbers within forces began to multiply. Women began to understand that they
shouldn't be judged based on what's on the outside states, Armor (1996). With more and
more women entering the military every year, problems began to arise. Sexual
harassment charges began coming up, everything from rape to unfair treatment came to
light (Titunik, 2000). Most of these cases could not be determined based on lack of

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evidence, but the tension within the units was prevalent. Men became more and more
hesitant as more women began to enter. Even generals would say things such as Women
don't have the ability to Protect and Serve our Nation, States, Titunik (2000). They say
that women don't have the correct physical qualifications necessary to enter the military.
This one statement itself has led rise against women being allowed to enter ground units
or ground combat (Stiehm,2003).
Still to this day women are able to be in ground combat units, but they are unable
to participate in combat. This still seems unfair to many people and also sparks new
research. In 2011 a group of professors led a research, revolving around women entering
or serving in the military. They state that 50% of the women who leave the military have
some sort of limitation or disability, they also have a higher chance at marriage
problems, and finally women will experience more health issues and disabilities in war
situations (Wilmoth, Landon & Parker, 2011). However once this group of researchers
took their evidence into the field, they came back with interesting results. They
discovered that women have the same percentage of disabilities, limitations and
experiences as men in the military with them. In fact women even have the same
likelihood of marriage problems as males. Proving this group's hypothesis very wrong,
and further proving women are no less than men. In fact after this research was released
it began a New Age for women in the United States. Since then women are joining in
larger and larger amounts every year, qualifications are less based on physical needs but
more towards qualifications (Stiehm, 2003). The Armed Forces identity is no longer
based around gender, females are joining with just as much rights as males (Silva,2008).

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The New Age for women is opening more and more doors within the military for women
to fill.
Women Empowerment
Since the Combat Exclusion Act was lifted in the late 90s more and more women
are taking up once unavailable forces. Once volunteer forces began, women saw it as
their opportunity at a new life (Armor, 1996). With recruiters saying empowering
slogans such as A good soldier is the work of a good citizen, females began to gain
more and more confidence (Galston, 2004). In fact women who have joined ROTC units
have said they feel more empowered and confident about themselves. They are
becoming stronger then they were before, and are able to escape normal female
expectations within our society (Silva, 2008). Even with the intense physical conditions
necessary to join the military, women are getting a new body out look and becoming even
stronger than before. The physical needs necessary to enter the military are in fact
making women healthier and stronger (Wilmoth, Landon & Parker, 2011). And now
more than ever females are able to separate womanhood from personhood (Silva,2008).
Civic duty laws now state: That so long as women are qualified and able they
should, be allowed within combat roles. If given the chance women could be just as
physically able as men to enter elite combat units. In fact there are some women who are
very qualified and are physically able, or more so or equally to men (Stiehm, 2003).
During the Iraq War, eleven women within several combat units lost limbs. This
inspired tons of articles that came out regarding these women and what they went
through. Ultimately the government believed this would only cause bad publicity

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towards the military. To everyone's surprise however the opposite happened. Instead of
the United States revolting, it caused a great amount of empowerment for women and
children all around the country. In fact it opened more doors for women to enter once
elite forces, designated for just men (Silva, 2008). Since then women entering the
military has increased by 1.7%.
There are many misconceptions regarding women entering the military. Many
believe that they are more likely to get injured or disabled when on duty. In a research
study they found that women who are in the active duty military are less likely to have a
disability or form any sort of limitations ( Wilmoth, Landon & Parker, 2011). Our world
is forever changing and women are gaining more and more footing in a once solely
masculine industry. Altogether masculinity is beginning to die off and women are
starting to take the lead in the military (Titunik, 2000).
Conclusion
As pointed out by Galston (2004) Women have been within the military for
longer than most people will have ever thought. It was only a matter of time before they
would begin to enter other roles within the military. There are many that state that
women are not physically or mentally able to go through the training or situations that
you must go through to join. However as stated in the research by Wilmoth, Landon &
Parker (2011), Active duty women have the same conditions and limitations as men, they
have equal abilities when put in the same situations as men. So this once black and white
debate has more to it than anyone once thought. We can ultimately conclude that no one

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should be turned away based on their mere gender, rather they should be judged based on
their abilities and passion.

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References
Armor, D. J. (1996). Race and gender in the U.S. military. Armed Forces and Society, 23(1),
7-27. Retrieved from ProQuest database. (Accession No. 236499648)
Coffman, E. M. (2000). The duality of the american military tradition: A commentary. The
Journal of Military History, 64(4), 967-980. Retrieved from ProQuest database.
(Accession No. 195617501)
Galston, W. A. (2004). Thinking about the draft. Public Interest, (154), 61-73. Retrieved from
ProQuest database. (Accession No. 222060045)
Silva, J. M. (2008). A new generation of women? How female ROTC cadets negotiate the
tension between masculine military culture and traditional femininity. Social Forces,
87(2), 937-950. Retrieved from ProQuest database. (Accession No. 229874323)
Stiehm, J. H. (2003). Women in combat: Civic duty or military liability. Journal of Policy
Analysis and Management, 22(1), 153-155. Retrieved from ProQuest database.
(Accession No. 222365386)
Titunik, R. F. (2000). The first wave: Gender integration and military culture. Armed Forces and
Society, 26(2), 1-29. Retrieved from ProQuest database. (Accession No. 236557354)
Wilmoth, J. M., London, A. S., & Parker, W. M. (2011). Sex differences in the relationship
between military service status and functional limitations and disabilities. Population
Research and Policy Review, 30(3), 333-354. Retrieved from ProQuest database.
(Accession No. 864152049)

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