Discrimination Against Women In The Military

One hundred and seventy years ago, Elizabeth Cady Stanton declared that “all men and women are created equal.” In the past century, America as a whole has worked together to remove traditional gender roles and to place men and women on equal ground. Given the extensive media coverage, one would assume women endure considerable negative prejudice compared to males; however, men also suffer from gender bias through the military Selective Service System and domestic abuse. Furthermore, while many people are sympathetic towards women, men often do not receive the same compassion, resulting in unhealthy levels of mental stress. In America, most of the population realizes the concerning problem of domestic violence. One of the biggest problems …show more content…
The Selective Service System, in 1917, controls military conscription, and it still only drafts men (“Selective”). Notwithstanding the acceptability of the bias in the Selective Service Act when it was originally enacted, the country’s standards have changed. Society has progressed beyond the belief of women’s fragility and gender inequality. Today, people claim that women and men supposedly stand on the same ground in terms of equity, but if both genders truly have equal capabilities, then they should also share an equal burden of warfare. Some people will claim that women have no experience or right on the battlefield, yet even as early as the revolutionary war, women have made considerable contributions for the country (Villahermosa). Females have proven their ability and desire to serve their country numerous times, yet individuals continue to shield them from war. General Merrill McPeak, chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force in 1991, believed that females should not be required to kill (McSally). Even battle hardened men sympathize with women and believe they should not be ordered on the battlefield, yet no sympathy whatsoever is shown to men conscripted into the army who are forced to kill or be killed. The reluctance to allow both genders to fight in the war as equals places the responsibility of this country solely on the backs of males. After the Vietnam war, the last time men were forcefully conscripted into the military, “an estimated 15.2% of male[s]...met criteria for...PTSD” (Price). Experiencing extreme agony and mental stress causes PTSD (“PTSD”). Countless men were drafted into the Vietnam War and begrudgingly gave their lives. If they were lucky enough to return home, they were left haunted by the traumatizing memories of war. If women were also drafted, men and women could share the burden equally instead of crippling one half