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Masculinity In The Military Essay

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There are over 200,000 women serving in the military, yet they still do not get recognized like men do. Our nation’s military is all-volunteer and their intentions are to defend and protect our country’s freedom. So why is it that women join the military having the exact same mindset that all the men joining have but they do not get the same treatment? Women go through the same training and hardships in bootcamp and are qualified to do the same things as their male counterparts. However, females are not allowed to serve on front-line combat units, serve as special service soldiers, nor can they hold prestigious ranks. A majority of the inequality that is experienced is based on the idea that masculinity determines one’s toughness and success in combat. In the eyes of many, women play a support role to men and are there for a man’s needs, but that’s not the case at all.
So what do we talk about when we talk about the military itself and the gender roles within it? Well for starters, military is defined as “of or relating to soldiers or the armed forces (such as the army, navy, marines, and air force)” according to merriam-webster. No matter what branch someone goes into the training is still generally the same; high intense workouts and activities that test the physical and mental strength of each and every individual that plans to commit to …show more content…

Even as a daughter of two Marines, I still am like most people in America, in that I tend to picture a man when I think of someone being a part of the military. Having heard the stories my mom and dad have told me, much of their experiences were the same, however my mom did have to take that extra step in order for her to be seen at the same level as a

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