You Fight Like a Girl

As I'm sure you have heard by now, the ban on women fighting in combat was lifted last week. This is a huge step for the military - recognizing what was already happening, in many locations for the past several years - and a huge step for women, who are finally able to rise through the military ranks just like men. Hopefully it will also turn "You fight like a girl!" into a compliment rather than the age old, childish insult.

Michel Martins, my newest career crush from NPR's Tell Me More, did a segment on women fighting in combat. I largely agree with a lot of what is said by the main interviewee, Representative Duckworth. However, there is one commenter, a female who served in and retired from the armed services, featured just before the 4 minute mark, who argues that women should not be in combat and leadership positions because some men are not ready for taking orders from a woman, and therefore lives would be unnecessarily put at risk.

That is completely absurd! Reality check:

There was a time when some white people were not ready for emancipation.
There was a time when some men were not ready for women to vote.
There was a time when some whites were not ready to go school/church/a restaurant with non-whites.

The list goes on.

Things happen before we are ready for them all the time, both in our personal lives and the public sphere. Many of these previous events lead to lost friendships, loves and even lives. That doesn't mean that we should always keep things how they are, especially if they are so incredibly antiquated and unjust.