When Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker voiced her objections toward women in combat she focused her editorial on the one female among 15 British sailors and marines held hostage by the Iranians. In singling out Leading Seaman Fay Turney, Parker stirred up a cauldron of my own feelings about American women in uniform fighting side by side with men in combat.
The R Word
Notwithstanding the sexual harassment and/or rape cases within our military ranks at home, the last thing American uniformed women want is to be captured and raped by hostiles. The Germans did it to Russian women in World War II. The Russians did it back to German women when they took East Berlin. The Japanese did it in Nanking; the American GIs did it in Vietnam. We all know what happened in Bosnia. Need I go back centuries? The visuals are not pretty.
Androgens (Male) vs. Estrogens (Female)
The hormones thing: Certainly there are some women–Judo experts, champion athletes come to mind–who are capable of taking care of themselves in certain circumstances, but not all and particularly not if they are outnumbered or injured.
Unless she regularly and vigorously works out, in most cases Eve’s body is physically weaker than Adam’s. I doubt there are many “GI Janes” within our Armed Forces. Private Jessica Lynch, whose capture and rescue in Iraq are still under a “fog of war” cloud, will testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee later this April. But it’s still unclear how much Jessica remembers, or wants to remember of what happened to her.
Score 10 for PR; 0 for Motherhood
The matter of motherhood: Wouldn’t you think that young Fay Turney would care more about her three-year-old-daughter than to put herself in harm’s way in the heavily contested waters of the Persian Gulf—not to mention the slimy hands of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? What fools the British were to let themselves be manipulated and humiliated by that insane fanatic. Those propaganda videos will go a long way in the Arab world toward making the Brits and us (guilt by association) look cowardly and weak.
Given that young Fay Turney obviously adores her little girl, she nevertheless lives in a world that expects her to sacrifice her most precious attribute, motherhood. And if we are to believe what we saw on the tapes—while behind the scenes she was frightened into apologizing—publicly the Iranians want us to think they treated Fay Turney as they do their own women–like a princess. To the Arab world Mr. Ahmadinejad comes off looking like Prince Charming, Tony Blair like Mr. Bumble.
What’s Fashionable
In the Broadway musical My Fair Lady Henry Higgins asks, “Why can’t a woman be more like a man?” Today’s professional American women are expected to think like men. Besides, it’s so old fashioned to talk of motherhood. But motherhood has nothing to do with fashion. Motherhood does not go in and out of fashion. Do mothers who are in and out of rehab better serve today’s children?
When I think of motherhood I think of the paintings of Mary Cassatt. She’s all about motherhood. If you are unfamiliar with the 19th century American Impressionist painter, you will find her on the Internet and in museums the world over. Looking at her gorgeous paintings is therapeutic for me. I can smell the milk breath of the babies and feel the inner peace of the mothers.
Woman the Nurturer
Those women who can afford to be full time mothers love it and their children love it. Children need their mothers. They need their fathers too, but it is the fathers who must go off to war; alas that is the way of the world. If mothers want to serve their country, if they want a military career, they can do it in so many ways with their brains, rather than weapons.
Women are Different Than Men
American women want to work anywhere they choose, regardless of whether the job is dirty or dangerous; and they are doing it successfully and that is a good thing. But there is a big difference between cracking the glass ceiling in the private sector, and fighting alongside men with boots on the ground and testosterone in the air. Yes, women are different than men, which is why they are often assaulted when and where they are most vulnerable. For example, uniformed women are warned consistently not to go to the latrines and showers alone.
To a lesser extent, these conditions prevailed in Vietnam where there were no women combatants, but military nurses who were there to save lives. In addition to all the backup support women and men provide the troops, women are particularly good at nurturing, healing, caring for and saving lives because that’s what they do naturally. Everything else has to be learned.
More Questions Than Answers
According to sketchy statistics, about 70 women have died fighting in Iraq and 450 have been wounded. Some have returned home and committed suicide. This is sad, even sadder if they were mothers. About 10 percent of the U.S. Forces currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq are women. I would like to ask General David Petraeus, head of all U.S. forces in Iraq, these questions.
1. Does the integrated male/female military service really work?
2. If a female soldier is being raped while her male buddies are in a firefight nearby, should her buddies try to come to her aid, or hunker down and continue the firefight?
3. When women are dressed as men and consistently considered “one of the guys” is there concern that men might become desensitized to women and their innumerable unique differences?
4. Does the training of young women in the military include highly advanced self-defense like Tai Kwon Do or Karate?
5. After serving as combatants, or as non-combatants (drivers, mechanics) in a combat zone, how many women voluntarily return to Iraq? Of those, how many are mothers?
6. Historically, women have always served in America’s wars, domestic and foreign. But very few statistics are available on the health of women who served, such as women who were exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam (civilian and military); the number of post-traumatic stress cases, etc. Is there more attention focused on these serious health matters now that women are serving in combat roles?
There is little if any chance that General Petraeus will ever see this article. Maybe it’s too long for anyone’s attention span. Nevertheless, these are questions that make me wonder if I am the only one who asks them.
A writer/editor, I work with one client at a time for a cost effective solution to your writing and editing needs. Visit me at http://www.susanscharfman.com My novel The Sword & The Chrysanthemum is now available in paperback and in ebook.