The Pentagon has dropped its policy of excluding women from combat. If a woman meets the standards for a combat role, what justification would there be to prevent her from being in combat? The only thing I can think of is sexism.
Considering the advancement in equality of the over the decades, why has it taken so long for the United States to open combat roles to women? In his books “He: the Study of Masculine Psychology” and “She: the Study of Feminine Psychology” psychologist Robert Johnson argued that regardless of the evolution and socialization of humans, we will always intrinsically be male and female. His belief is that we can never completely shed ourselves of our natural masculine and feminine instincts.
The masculine instinct to ‘protect’ women is innate. It is not simply the manifestation of a male-dominated society. Rather, our male-dominated society is the result of the masculine instinct. Over time, humans have learned to adjust certain instincts to better fit the social and practical evolution of our species.
The idea of shielding women in the military from combat roles is inspired by a basic human instinct. However, as our civilization advances we gain the practical understanding that some instincts are no longer needed for the survival of our species.
There is no question that many women are mentally and physically more fit for combat roles than many men. In the context of society today, the exclusion of women from such roles is unfair and detrimental to the evolution of our species.
Though I have just presented the case for accepting women in combat roles in the military, I do think that there is nothing wrong with accepting the reality that men and women are different and we should be allowed to respect the need for all-male and all-female bonding, like a football team or a women’s organization.
Men who reject the changes that result from equal competition in the military or in the business world may be reacting to a threat they feel from women. We should all want the best person for the combat role to be in that honorable position of protecting our nation and our freedoms – whether male or female.
