Research Log 3 Women in the Military

Weinstein, Laurie. Gender Camouflage . New York: New 
           York University, 1999.


Summary:  Physical training has proven most perplexing and the most difficult for gender integration.  The service academies have learned to accommodate the physiological differences of men and women, but this has not led to women's acceptance by male cadets.  When women first came to service, there was little data on what women athletes in top shape should be able to do.  Even today, with much higher standards demanded on women, female cadets develop their physical abilities to a greater extent than do the males during training.  The physical education instructors set a lower standard, which would allow more women to pass the initial tests and then gain confidence as the standard would increase each year.  However, all the academies failed to convince the male cadets that the standards set for women required the same effort/ability by women that the standards set for men required of men.  So, the concept of equal effort is still not accepted by most male cadets, because physical prowess is given great weight in the formula for success as a leader.  That means even outstanding women with high physical ability will never rank higher than men as leaders and will remain inferior.  


Response:  If the military would reexamine its requirements and recognize that running, push-ups, and sit-ups are not the best measures of an overall physically fit person, then perhaps this major barrier to gender integration can start to be eroded.  If fitness and wellness is a goal, then aerobic and anaerobic tests should be added to the strength tests; this will level the playing field for men and women.  For example, when male cadets came to the female aerobics they were dying before the class was officially over for the day (Weinstein 72).  Deciding what equal effort is and educating all cadets on the differences between strength and fitness/wellness and job requirements remains a major challenge at all the academies and in the military in general.  Until women can be seen as competitive in the physical arena, they will never be seen as equals.  Because women enter the military with varsity athletic experiences, the minimum standards for women will continue to climb. However, there will always be a marked difference between men's and women's physical abilities in the tests as they are currently constructed (Weinstein 72). 


Next Steps:  I chose this particular section in the book because it really shows the true grit of differences between men and women in the military.  A lot of physical ability is tested in combat everyday and that is where women tend to be seen as inferior as opposed to men.  Leaders and combatants should be seen as strong and physically fit in order to get what needs to be done, done. From here, I will progress into the military and how they deal with the wives in and out of service and how that reflects on the aspect of the debate for women in combat.