I recently answered a poll regarding feminism. They asked whether or not I considered myself a feminist and why I did or did not. I do not consider myself a feminist and I've been meaning to do a blog post on my reasons. The following is a much expanded version of my response and my take on women being integrated into the infantry.

I feel like modern feminism is essentially a glorification of men. They tell us that we are inferior if we aren't doing everything that men are doing, even though we were created with different strengths and weakness from them. The irony of feminism is that what they're doing is achieving the exact opposite of their goal. They are the ones who are spreading the belief that to feminine is to be inferior. That if, for instance, a woman chooses to be a stay-at-home mother she is inferior. Why would it be such a shameful thing to fulfill the role of a woman?

"As women, we must not be swallowed up by a culture that tells us there's no real difference between men and women, nor can we succumb to a society that demeans women for their feminine distinctiveness. Rather, let us always keep in mind that every woman's journey is to live her feminine genius in an original and unique way, so as to bring into being that which never existed before—human life, spiritual life, and the fullness of emotional and cultural life."
-Katrina Zeno, Every Woman's Journey

It seems to be a childish "anything you can do I can do better" mentality that is now trying to defeat our military just to satisfy their own egos; to win this imagined battle of equality.The fact is that women are physically weaker than men. The fittest, strongest women would be broken in the infantry.
This is an excerpt from an article written by a female marine(A company grade 1302 combat engineer officer with 5 years of active service and two combat deployments, one to Iraq and the other to Afghanistan, who has participated in and lead numerous combat operations.).

"...By the fifth month into the deployment, I had muscle atrophy in my thighs that was causing me to constantly trip and my legs to buckle with the slightest grade change. My agility during firefights and mobility on and off vehicles and perimeter walls was seriously hindering my response time and overall capability. It was evident that stress and muscular deterioration was affecting everyone regardless of gender; however, the rate of my deterioration was noticeably faster than that of male Marines and further compounded by gender-specific medical conditions. At the end of the 7-month deployment, and the construction of 18 PBs later, I had lost 17 pounds and was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (which personally resulted in infertility, but is not a genetic trend in my family), which was brought on by the chemical and physical changes endured during deployment. Regardless of my deteriorating physical stature, I was extremely successful during both of my combat tours, serving beside my infantry brethren and gaining the respect of every unit I supported. Regardless, I can say with 100 percent assurance that despite my accomplishments, there is no way I could endure the physical demands of the infantrymen whom I worked beside as their combat load and constant deployment cycle would leave me facing medical separation long before the option of retirement. I understand that everyone is affected differently; however, I am confident that should the Marine Corps attempt to fully integrate women into the infantry, we as an institution are going to experience a colossal increase in crippling and career-ending medical conditions for females."

Her entire article and a short interview can be read and viewed here: http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette/article/get-over-it-we-are-not-all-created-equal


I'm not saying that that there is anything wrong with being a soldier or a career woman. The Proverbs 31 woman engaged in production and trade. The problem I see is that today feminism is essentially all about men and how to be as good or better than a man when instead our focus should be on how to be the best women we can be in whichever occupation we choose.