Newsgroups: soc.women
Subject: Re: [SOC] A social issue (Re: Equality between men and women)
From: parks_typ@med.wcc.govt.nz
Date: 11 Jan 1993 03:20:27 GMT
Reply-To: parks_typ@med.wcc.govt.nz
Organization: Wellington City Council, Wgtn, NZ
NNTP-Posting-Host: blade.wcc.govt.nz

In article <1993Jan5.103107.19017@husc13.harvard.edu>, peregrin@husc13.harvard.edu writes:
>Hmm, the arguement of women in the armed forces...

I think the only thing about women in the armed forces is that platoons should
not be mixed, i.e. the men should not be tempted to lag or carry extra to help
out a female soldier.  Having been in the armed forces (albeit very briefly) I
know it happens.  Also there are, of course, problems of having women around a
bunch of horny soldiers, when are not known for sensitivity or respect for
women.



>>>2-I don't care WHAT kind of training a woman has, she still cannot hit as hard
>>>    as a man.
>
>	Perhaps she cannot use the same motion of hitting that a man is
>trained to use... Has anyone bothered to find out?

Yes, most women can't hit as hard as a man but it's all in *where* you hit.
You might notice there's a kind of unwritten law which dictates a man shall not
hit another man in the knackers.  Women, however, not having knackers, don't
know what it's like to be hit in them and therefore have no hesitation to use
this to their advantage.

Men punch and grapple.  Women kick, pinch, bite, scratch and anything else they
think might get them a small advantage.




>> In the following reply, I may seem to be somewhat self-contradictory, but 
>> personally I think women should not be allowed in a combat zone for several 
>> good reasons which I do not wish to elaborate here because it may be very 
>> lenghthy and controversial.

I'd be interested to hear/read them, out of curiousity.


>aspects it starts to break down.  Men start finding it very difficult to
>be as violent.  They start feeling "protective" or inordinately concerned
>with certain well-beings of women, and hence they are impeded from performing
>the same kind of violence as before.
>	In short it becomes difficult for them to continue killing.

I tend to agree with this.

Segregation might help solve that though.

I've heard that once a women is trained and in a killing frame of mind she can
be surprisingly ruthless and vicious, maybe the killing of that 'nurturing'
instinct is all that's required.


However no matter how angry I get at a person, how much they've hurt/humiliated
me, and what dire fates I've fantasised for them, if it came down to it I
couldn't harm them - not even with hurtful words.  

A classic example is a very drunk and annoying but basically harmless guy who
was groping me at a party just before Christmas.  I threw a glass of water in
his face, but when he wouldn't give up I got out of range rather than punch
him - I do know self-defence, but don't know if I'd use it and hope I never
find out.





Rachel                           "Supergoof!"
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Newsgroups: soc.women,soc.men,alt.feminism