Women in the Military

 Historically, women have been considered unsuitable for military combat. Some early involvements of women in the military were nurses who would attend to soldiers during combat.

Female participation in the army differs from country to country; only a few actually allow women to serve in active combat positions while others are restricted to certain positions. In the US, women have assumed male pseudonyms and concealed their gender in order to enlist and fight, as early as the Revolutionary War. Nonetheless, there is general opposition towards the idea of women fighting as equals with men.

Opposers to women in military argue both physical and psychological reasons as why women should not be allowed to fight in combat.

Women are smaller and physically weaker than men on average, a fact that is hard to overlook considering physical capabilities is an important consideration concerning combat abilities. And, with men and women living in close proximity together during a time of crisis, there are many opportunities for incidents of sexual assault and pregnancy. Many of the arguments opposing gender diversity in the military center around stereotypes of the the female psychology. Even if there are undeniable physical limitations that women in the military have to face, the assumption that most women have a handicap that does not allow them to fight as well as men do is archaic, and re-affirms the fact that society remains shaped by patriarchal ideas.