Beyond Combat: Women And Gender In Vietnam

Women were a massive part of the war effort during this war. The roles of your typical woman changed greatly within society. While the men were away fighting with guns, women were home fighting with newfound skills. We started to see less stay-at-home moms, and more women taking jobs that generally belonged to men over the years. Without this change in societal structure, it would not have been possible for America to produce enough to win a war as great as this. Along with joining the workforce, many women began to join the military and fight for their country, something that had not occurred very much in the past.

There is little official data on female Vietnam War veterans, because the military mostly favored recording the achievements of men in the army. The Vietnam Women's Memorial Foundation estimate that approximately 11,000 women were stationed in Vietnam from 1962 to 1973. Only about ten percent of women served as soldiers. The ones who did were normally treated as second class soldiers; their role was perceived only as a helpmate instead of a soldier, and they were often put in dangerous situations prior to having any proper military training. The other ninety percent of women served as military nurses, physicians, air traffic controllers, intelligence officers, and clerks. Some women who weren't in the military served in Vietnam in the Red

The Vietnam War was a perplexing, unjustified conflict where both historians and the media over-generalized service members’ experiences. They constantly failed to speak for all people with firsthand combat experience and focused solely on the male’s perspective. Lynda Van Devanter, a former member of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps (ANC) and Vietnam veteran was the first woman who educated America on the female’s position during the Vietnam War and systematically destroyed the stereotype of an undamaged, inessential Vietnam nurse. Contrary to popular belief, the Vietnam War distorted the mentality of both men and women who served overseas, according to Devanter. Historians and the media, rather than acknowledging the Vietnam Nurses’ distinct perspective as a key element of the morally ambiguous altercation, they focused solely on male veteran experiences and failed to accurately portray the war. By changing the subject of Vietnam War stories through her forthright memoir, Home Before Morning, Devanter wrote about the fallacious stereotypes nurses

There was also opposing viewpoints that women were at high risk of sexual harassment (Carlson 4). Although that should not get in the way when women can report the individual who did her wrong and also there was a risks of violations back at home. While their daily experiences were different, all women who served were met with the clear realities of danger and death on a daily basis (Women in Vietnam). Once the initial experience of arrival was over, women began to camouflage to their situations and to settle their job that the war offered (“Iris”). They, like the men in uniform who were doing the fighting, came under much of the same enemy fire and risked their lives. They were a rare breed of women who were knew what not so much was coming to them but was able to handle such a traumatic devastation. But along with men, they were able to handle seeing such horrible situations, opposing that women and men should have been allowed to fight the battles regardless of the sex.

From November 1, 1955 to April 30, 1975, a war raged across many countries with tales of victory, defeat and peace echoing within. People died for freedom, and lived to help another continue on their path of life. This war was known as The Vietnam War. It was one of the longest wars, endless labor and fighting, but it wasn’t just the men helping their armies. On both sides of the war, women were always working, making sure they did their part to help their country win the war.

Women were not subject to the Vietnam-era draft, but thousands volunteered. For some women, the war offered an opportunity to travel and postpone marriage and motherhood, still the expected roles for young women in the 1960s. Some military women offered to go to Vietnam because they wanted to support the war effort or to see for themselves what was really happening on the ground. Others enlisted in the military for college and employment benefits after recruiters promised they would not be sent to Vietnam.

The main source is a book called Beyond Combat: Women and Gender in the Vietnam War Era, written by Heather Marie Stur, and was published in September of 2011. Heather Marie Stur is a director of University of Southern Mississippi’s Vietnam Studies program and is an author of several articles, including some about the Vietnam War. This source is valuable to answering the thesis question and revealing the past of the Vietnam War because it was written by an assistant professor whose research interests are gender and conflict, the U.S. in a global context, and the Vietnam War. Stur gathers information from her research and writes about it in

Many people wondered how many women served in, there were 7,484 women served and only 67 died, 8 nurses and 59 cillivans. Civilian women and women soldiers participated in the vietnam war and some even became famous for it.

When hearing the topic “Comfort Women” that would be discussed at the presentation being held in the ABC building and thoughts ran through my head that it would be about programs that created were created to help women all over the world that may need comfort for situations that may be going on in their family. Come to find out “Comfort Women” actually has to do with women and girls who were forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese soldiers during World War 2. Hearing something like this is very heartbreaking and disturbing especially because it is something I have never heard about. It is inhumane to hold someone as a sex slave and it is basically stripping them of their natural born human rights. Though I do not know the right those who

Trying to hold the homefront together while there was a war waging abroad was not an

One study (Binkin & Bach) found that many NATO and several WARSAW PACT countries employed women in combat roles during World War II. Russia was reported as using military women on the front lines. In Israel, where they are actually conscripted, women have also experienced armed combat. (Binkin & Bach) found that in the first phase of Israel’s war of Liberation, one out of every five soldiers was female and they shared equality in both offensive and defensive battle situations. Holm found that some 7,500 military women served in S.E. Asia during the Vietnam War. She maintains that these women proved the modern American military woman is fully capable of functioning effectively in a military role in a combat environment, even under direct hostile fire.

Since before time, women have always had less power compared to men. Men have always been the ones who have had the power to make decisions, the power to incorporate new ideas, and have a powerful role within society. Unfortunately, in some countries, women are not valued enough nor respected. There have been many cases within some cultures that women live a life of misery because they don’t have freedom. However, in some countries women have gained the right to have the same power and freedom of a male. Many of these freedoms have to do with having a political role within society or having a role that empowers them. One of these roles is to be in the front line during

When it comes to combat assignments and the needs of the military, men take precedence over all other considerations, including career prospects of female service members. Female military members have been encouraged to pursue opportunities and career enhancement within the armed forces, which limit them only to the needs and good of the service due to women being not as “similarly situated” as their male counterparts when it comes to strength or aggressiveness, and are not able to handle combat situations.

Female student’s fighting at school in Vietnam is creasing. It being a problem are concerned. The first reason that can explain is personal contradiction. Most of girls have enormous envy. One of them wear a stylish dress, the others will hate that girl. They talk about that girl badly and really walk over her. Another reason that female student’s fighting is some of them probably fight over in order to get a good boy who they like. Love is a wonderful feeling. We can’t prohibit someone’s feeling. But in a school, the students have to focus on their studying. Finishing school is their first problem which they have to do. Some people live with the thought that studying is first then love. That why many lady who never get married. The female

The issue of women involved in armed conflict has been a reoccurring problem in countries that are plagued by war for decades. Due to this problem women are taken in by soldiers and are sexually violated, and sold as sex slaves. Also they are faced with economic, abduction's, and healthcare problems. They have a lack nutrition, physiological problems such as depression, and sexual transmitted diseases. After being sexually violated they have become outsider and are later rejected by their families and society.  In many countries that in present day are in war face many of these issues and they are reoccurring events that happen every day in these peoples lives. The most well known country is Afghanistan. Still today there is fighting going on in Afghanistan and every day women are sexually violated and abused by soldiers in what are called comfort camps.