thedrifter
02-16-09, 07:54 AM
Return of the “Ungendered Military”
[Elaine Donnelly]
On Sunday, February 8, the Boston Globe published my op-ed titled “Open Door
Creates Problems,” paired with a column by Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, titled “Military Just Catching Up.” The Globe also invited both of us to comment on the opposing article: “The Writers React to Each Other.”
My short commentary emphasized concerns that Sarvis either ignored or tried to answer with weak arguments, personal attacks, and false claims that don’t hold up when compared to my writings. The exchange reminded me of the arrogance of advocates who try to wrap harmful social agendas in the banner of “national security.”
With little or no respect for military culture, some ideologues keep demanding that our military assume higher risks of social disruption that would hurt morale, discipline, and overall readiness. Consider this comment, posted in support of Sarvis’s position, which takes the prize for faux social science laced with anti-male attitudes common among feminists:
I would encourage my daughter to be unafraid of people in general, and I hope that means that she can shower with anybody and not need to worry about it. The only problem with showering with a bunch of straight men is that they may well not have learned that women are people too, not objects to be lusted after, because we live in a wicked sexist society that has always allowed straight men to get away with harassing and assaulting women and anyone else they feel like, so long as it doesn't threaten the power structure.
And we continue to promote the idea that women are there for the sexual pleasure of men. Just consider the current use of the word 'ho'. It's time for straight men to grow up. Are some straight men afraid of gay men because they think gay men might do to them what they might, given a chance without repercussions, do to a woman? Discuss.
—by fredbob February 08, 2:03 PM
A friend of mine had some fun with “fredbob’s” loopy philosophy:
Maybe we should propose that before we tackle the whole gay issue we should first develop a comprehensive training program, with plenty of practical exercises, to teach all the “straight men” that “women are people too.” I think we’d have to start with some classroom instruction and then move to “supervised showers” where commanders and NCOs monitor the showers to make sure all are getting along without things getting out of control. Once we’ve developed sufficient self-control in the straight men, we need to introduce more of the straight women into the mix so they become “unafraid” of showering with “anybody and need not worry about it.”
Once we get all the straight men and straight women in the showers together without it turning into some sort of gang rape or orgy, then we’ll have a sufficient basis of information to develop similar training programs for implementing the new gay paradigm. I don’t know how long such a training program will take, but since we’re basically reprogramming human nature, it could be a while. Of course, we’ll need refresher courses along the way. Will we be able to fight a war along the way? I doubt it, but we’ll surely have the “cleanest” military force in the history of the world!
Beam me up, Scotty, there’s no intelligent life down here.
My friend’s spoof, unfortunately, is not much different from the social science fiction popular among feminists during the Clinton administration.
In 1996, for example, Duke law professor Madeline Morris, an adviser to then-Secretary of the Army Togo West and Assistant Secretary Sara Lister, proposed the concept of an “ungendered military” in a Duke Law Journal article titled “By Force of Arms: Rape, War, and Military Culture.” According to Professor Morris, sexual misconduct in the ranks could be reduced by determined efforts to root out what she called “masculinist attitudes.”
Will the Obama administration attempt to impose a “New Gender Order” on the military? For the sake of our men and women in uniform, let’s hope that hard-core feminists and their allies are not given a second chance to try.
Ellie
[Elaine Donnelly]
On Sunday, February 8, the Boston Globe published my op-ed titled “Open Door
Creates Problems,” paired with a column by Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, titled “Military Just Catching Up.” The Globe also invited both of us to comment on the opposing article: “The Writers React to Each Other.”
My short commentary emphasized concerns that Sarvis either ignored or tried to answer with weak arguments, personal attacks, and false claims that don’t hold up when compared to my writings. The exchange reminded me of the arrogance of advocates who try to wrap harmful social agendas in the banner of “national security.”
With little or no respect for military culture, some ideologues keep demanding that our military assume higher risks of social disruption that would hurt morale, discipline, and overall readiness. Consider this comment, posted in support of Sarvis’s position, which takes the prize for faux social science laced with anti-male attitudes common among feminists:
I would encourage my daughter to be unafraid of people in general, and I hope that means that she can shower with anybody and not need to worry about it. The only problem with showering with a bunch of straight men is that they may well not have learned that women are people too, not objects to be lusted after, because we live in a wicked sexist society that has always allowed straight men to get away with harassing and assaulting women and anyone else they feel like, so long as it doesn't threaten the power structure.
And we continue to promote the idea that women are there for the sexual pleasure of men. Just consider the current use of the word 'ho'. It's time for straight men to grow up. Are some straight men afraid of gay men because they think gay men might do to them what they might, given a chance without repercussions, do to a woman? Discuss.
—by fredbob February 08, 2:03 PM
A friend of mine had some fun with “fredbob’s” loopy philosophy:
Maybe we should propose that before we tackle the whole gay issue we should first develop a comprehensive training program, with plenty of practical exercises, to teach all the “straight men” that “women are people too.” I think we’d have to start with some classroom instruction and then move to “supervised showers” where commanders and NCOs monitor the showers to make sure all are getting along without things getting out of control. Once we’ve developed sufficient self-control in the straight men, we need to introduce more of the straight women into the mix so they become “unafraid” of showering with “anybody and need not worry about it.”
Once we get all the straight men and straight women in the showers together without it turning into some sort of gang rape or orgy, then we’ll have a sufficient basis of information to develop similar training programs for implementing the new gay paradigm. I don’t know how long such a training program will take, but since we’re basically reprogramming human nature, it could be a while. Of course, we’ll need refresher courses along the way. Will we be able to fight a war along the way? I doubt it, but we’ll surely have the “cleanest” military force in the history of the world!
Beam me up, Scotty, there’s no intelligent life down here.
My friend’s spoof, unfortunately, is not much different from the social science fiction popular among feminists during the Clinton administration.
In 1996, for example, Duke law professor Madeline Morris, an adviser to then-Secretary of the Army Togo West and Assistant Secretary Sara Lister, proposed the concept of an “ungendered military” in a Duke Law Journal article titled “By Force of Arms: Rape, War, and Military Culture.” According to Professor Morris, sexual misconduct in the ranks could be reduced by determined efforts to root out what she called “masculinist attitudes.”
Will the Obama administration attempt to impose a “New Gender Order” on the military? For the sake of our men and women in uniform, let’s hope that hard-core feminists and their allies are not given a second chance to try.
Ellie