Military women in Combat
Integration of the Articles
The two articles elicit a lot of emotions on the topic of women in the military. In most instances, our women in the military tend to be sidelined by their male counterparts as there is a general feeling that the ladies in the forces are lesser qualified and physically unable to undertake some certain tasks in the military (Kerrigan, 2012). This leads to situations when women find it hard to be given top ranks in the organization. There is a lot of negative impact of this, as most of these women end up being demoralized and mental trauma. There are some defenses as well as some similarities which can be noted from these two articles
Similarities
The two articles acknowledge that there is a lot of discrimination based on gender when it comes to military operations. Sex has been used as a major factor to grant some privileges to men while denying some other privileges to the women in the military combat. The status as well as approval to the military is largely depended on the gender and sexual orientation of the candidates. While men find it quite easier to pursue their ambitions in the military combat, the women find it hard and tricky to do this (King, 2015). Most ranks are not given in terms of merits, but rather depending on whether one is a man or a woman. Similarly, the responsibilities assigned also depend highly on whether one is a man or a woman, while men tend to be given a lot of responsibilities; most women end up being given only one or two of such responsibilities (Foynes, Shipherd & Harrington, 2013). The two articles acknowledge the difference in physical orientation as a major factor for this situation. The physical being of men makes them more muscular and hence appears fit for the combat operations in the military as opposed to women. However, this does not make women to be weaker of les of military service people. They can be equal to the task as well. Intelligence should not be gauged on physical making of any military personnel.
Differences
‘Sexism as a predictor of attitudes toward women in the military and in combat’ tends to concentrate more on the attitude side of the women who are in the military (Young & Nauta, 2013). The research conducted in this article concentrated on the four forms of sexism beliefs which are taken to predict the attitudes women have towards the military job and combat operations. Generally, women tended to have negative views towards the military and combat. Out of the study sample, the military affiliated college students seemed to have a more negative attitude as compared to civilian students.
On the other hand, ‘Women Warriors: Female Accession to Ground Combat’ concentrates more on the integration of women into the military (King, 2015). In doing so, the author largely proposes the concept of equivalence basing as opposed to equality when it comes to understanding how women should be integrated into the military organization. The article recognizes that equality may not be the best tool for integration. In so doing the article expounds more on equivalence in helping women in the military integration with the organization
Key Points Shared
Strengths and Weaknesses
Generally, the two articles meet the standards of scholarly materials. Their main strengths is that the articles present their data and key findings in a logical way, which enables the readers to buy the opinions of the authors. The authors of the articles have been in direct contact with corps and veterans, which enabled them to gain first-hand information regarding the situation
While there are no explicit weaknesses about the articles, there are small bits which need to be improved. For instance, the article “Women Warriors: Female Accession to Ground Combat” did not outline its major findings in the abstract. The reader does not therefore have a full glimpse of things in the first sight of interaction with the article.
Usefulness in Clinical Practice
The two articles are very useful in clinical practice, especially when it comes to the issue of trauma therapy. The attitudes of women towards the military service and combat in general can be solved through psychological counseling (Mattocks et al., 2012). Similarly, the issue of gender transition into the military can be a cause of psychological problem to women. The clinical practice must therefore be aware of this and devise mechanisms of dealing with it.
Fitness into the Larger Scope of Clinical Practice
Generally, the two articles fit into the larger scope of clinical practice when it comes to dealing with veterans and service members. The problem of inequality and discrimination basing on gender which is witnessed in the military organization is a real problem to the issue of socialization and psychological stabilization (King, 2015). Clinical practice must therefore be committed to deal with issues which come by as a result of such things.
Application in the Issues of Gender and Sexuality
The articles prove to have a wide application in the issues of gender and sexuality. The articles are instrumental in highlighting the kind of discrimination among women in the military, where most of them are not given an equal opportunity as their men counterparts (Mattocks et al., 2012).
Most Interesting Part
The most interesting part of these articles is the issue of equivalence rather than equality when it comes to the integration of women in the military. Ability should not be based on physical making, but rather on intelligence and dedication to tasks.
References
Foynes, M. M., Shipherd, J. C., & Harrington, E. F. (2013). Race and gender discrimination in the Marines. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 19(1), 111.
Kerrigan, M. F. (2012). Transgender discrimination in the military: The new don't ask, don't tell. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 18(3), 500.
King, A. C. (2015). Women Warriors Female Accession to Ground Combat. Armed Forces & Society, 41(2), 379-387.
Mattocks, K. M., Haskell, S. G., Krebs, E. E., Justice, A. C., Yano, E. M., & Brandt, C. (2012). Women at war: Understanding how women veterans cope with combat and military sexual trauma. Social science & medicine, 74(4), 537-545.
Young, L. M., & Nauta, M. M. (2013). Sexism as a predictor of attitudes toward women in the military and in combat. Military Psychology, 25(2), 166.
