Part 4- Based on real conversations
A: The gender pay gap is a myth.
B: Women get paid less than men for the same work.
A: Not when you factor in the number of hours worked. Women prefer to work part time so they can spend time with their children. They also tend to drop out of the workforce for years at a time to raise children. Men also tend to work more dangerous and unpleasant jobs. Even leaving out the military, over 90% of workplace deaths are men.
B: Treating women differently than men is sexist.
A: Is it sexist when the military holds women to lower standards than men? A passing score on the Army's physical fitness test for a woman is a failing score for a man.
B: Women can be just as good soldiers as men. They should be allowed in infantry and special forces. Many countries have co-ed armed forces. Grrrl power!
A: Don't you think it's interesting that around the world and throughout history, war has been the domain of men? Do you think this is just a coincidence or perhaps it might be due to the fact that men are on average taller, heavier, stronger, and more aggressive than women?
B: Why are you such a sexist?
A: Do you believe men and women are equal?
B: Yes.
A: OK, then why are sports segregated by gender? Why don't we ever see boxing matches between men and women of equal weight? Or weightlifting? Or running?
B: You're just another sexist neanderthal who wants women to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.
A: I'm glad you brought up pregnancy. Did you know the Navy experimented with co-ed ships during the Persian Gulf War? On one ship, over 30 women got pregnant- 10% of the women on that ship.
B: Why won't you let women serve their country just like men?
A: There are many roles for women in the military, including some combat ones. But infantry, special forces, and ships, just don't work out, and there is plenty of evidence to support that.
B: Too few women are CEOs, scientists, engineers, and politicians. We need diversity.
A: Are women the same as men?
B: Yes.
A: OK, then why is it necessary to encourage more women to enter those jobs?
B: OK, women are different. Diversity is important.
A: If women are different, does that mean they should be held to a different standard or even excluded from certain things?
B: No! Women are equal to men.
A: So they're equal to men, but you still think they should be held to different standards?
B: You always make my ideas sound stupid when you rephrase them.
A: That tends to happen when you apply logic and common sense to Team Blue slogans.
B: We need laws to protect women like the Violence Against Women Act.
A: If women are equal to men, why self-described feminists supporting special laws to protect them? Make up your mind. If women are equal to men in a given situation, they must be held to the same standard. If they are held to different standards, they are not equal.
B: I can see there's no getting through to you, you ignorant misogynist.
A: I predict your future husband will be 37 cats.
A: The gender pay gap is a myth.
B: Women get paid less than men for the same work.
A: Not when you factor in the number of hours worked. Women prefer to work part time so they can spend time with their children. They also tend to drop out of the workforce for years at a time to raise children. Men also tend to work more dangerous and unpleasant jobs. Even leaving out the military, over 90% of workplace deaths are men.
B: Treating women differently than men is sexist.
A: Is it sexist when the military holds women to lower standards than men? A passing score on the Army's physical fitness test for a woman is a failing score for a man.
B: Women can be just as good soldiers as men. They should be allowed in infantry and special forces. Many countries have co-ed armed forces. Grrrl power!
A: Don't you think it's interesting that around the world and throughout history, war has been the domain of men? Do you think this is just a coincidence or perhaps it might be due to the fact that men are on average taller, heavier, stronger, and more aggressive than women?
B: Why are you such a sexist?
A: Do you believe men and women are equal?
B: Yes.
A: OK, then why are sports segregated by gender? Why don't we ever see boxing matches between men and women of equal weight? Or weightlifting? Or running?
B: You're just another sexist neanderthal who wants women to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.
A: I'm glad you brought up pregnancy. Did you know the Navy experimented with co-ed ships during the Persian Gulf War? On one ship, over 30 women got pregnant- 10% of the women on that ship.
B: Why won't you let women serve their country just like men?
A: There are many roles for women in the military, including some combat ones. But infantry, special forces, and ships, just don't work out, and there is plenty of evidence to support that.
B: Too few women are CEOs, scientists, engineers, and politicians. We need diversity.
A: Are women the same as men?
B: Yes.
A: OK, then why is it necessary to encourage more women to enter those jobs?
B: OK, women are different. Diversity is important.
A: If women are different, does that mean they should be held to a different standard or even excluded from certain things?
B: No! Women are equal to men.
A: So they're equal to men, but you still think they should be held to different standards?
B: You always make my ideas sound stupid when you rephrase them.
A: That tends to happen when you apply logic and common sense to Team Blue slogans.
B: We need laws to protect women like the Violence Against Women Act.
A: If women are equal to men, why self-described feminists supporting special laws to protect them? Make up your mind. If women are equal to men in a given situation, they must be held to the same standard. If they are held to different standards, they are not equal.
B: I can see there's no getting through to you, you ignorant misogynist.
A: I predict your future husband will be 37 cats.
Regarding your claims about the military standards, they are totally misguided.
ReplyDeleteThe APFT is a measure of the soldier's cardio and strength vs. a healthy fit soldier of the same age range and gender. It is NOT a measure of their ability to do a particular soldiering task (these are known as Military Essential Task List (METL).
Therefore the APFT is only to measure someone of the approximately same age and gender vs. their peers to see if they are maintaining a MINIMUM level of fitness, again for THEIR SPECIFIC age and gender.
For example, you cannot expect a 33year old male of average to above average fitness to perform as well as an 18 year old male of the same fitness level. That's why the scores are different. Interestingly, the pushup repetitions required to achieve the maximum score actually goes up with age for males, before it starts coming down again, because male reach their peak strength in their twenties, and 18 year olds are still developing.
Taking your logic, though, males who are anything over age 27 should not be allowed to participate in special forces, infantry etc. since they have lower minimum PT scores than an 18-27 year old does. When in fact most special forces are 30+ years old.
What you fail to understand is that the APFT has NOTHING to do with your ability to perform your specific job as a soldier. It is more akin to an annual health exam. 99% of pilots could not complete a 12-mile ruck march with an 80lb pack in the minimum time required to pass for an infantry man. Likewise an infantry man may not be able to effectively pass the pilot's required swim or dunker tests, or weight restrictions necessary for aviation operations.
Special forces, infantry, aviation and many other military specialties have ADDITIONAL physical requirements above the APFT that determine eligibility for the role - NOT GENDER. Those women who pass those requirements (which are the same for male/female) go on to do those jobs, and nearly all the women do them exceptionally well.