Female Military Conscription, Term Paper Example

Abstract

Literature: The facts and philosophies of the time could contextually support either agreement or disagreement with the establishment of female military conscription. Purpose: Analyze emerging scientific evidence while examining the social viability of female military conscription through the study of relevant Philosophy and the last one hundred years’ History.  Research Question: Do History, Philosophy, and Science support the assertion that women should not be eligible for military conscription? Hypotheses: At this time there is insufficient, definitive data, and thus it cannot be stated that History, Philosophy, and Science supports or discredits the assertion that women should not be eligible for military conscription.  Data: The C.I.A.’s results are analyzed and used to find the statistics involved with additional female casualties. Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative research should be combined with the goal of remaining objective. Findings: Female conscription is not scientifically advisable. Discussion: Currently the only concurrence on the subject (the physiological disadvantages of women) is against women’s presence in combat. Conclusion: The only evidence is against female military conscription.

Introduction

Are there areas in which equalization of men and women cannot be achieved? There are proponents of the arguments for and against women being eligible for the draft. The statistics matter, but- as long as there are able-bodied men- most societies discourage active participation in war, as the women of the first two world wars were told and/or forced to do their “duty” and then sent back to their passive roles and asked to forget it all. Society is influenced by current philosophy, and society’s mandates in turn effect history. It is necessary to review the philosophical theories relevant to the military conscription of women and weigh these social factors and historical and scientific evidence.

Literature Review

A literature review is necessary to objectively compile information, respond to points and counterpoints in an orderly fashion, and to take into account relevant Philosophy and- due to the overwhelming volume of information available and recent developments-  the  limited (one-hundred year) scope of History and Science regarding the issue of conscription of women.

There is no question that women have provided viable services to militarism. During World War I women contributed to the war effort under the supervision of men in the service. They worked in volunteer, paramilitary, and paramedical organizations due to their exclusion from many active roles until the Women’s Volunteer Reserve was formed (Noakes, 2008). The absence of men has been the factor which determines American society’s tolerance for female social movements. During the Depression the tasks outside of the home were considered to be for men. Likewise, during World War II the factory and other technical experience that was normally unavailable to women was deemed a patriotic duty and embodied in the form of the strong, smart “Rosie the Riveter” character. Those women who stayed in the workforce after the war were reminded that “their greatest asset was their ability to take care of their homes and that career women would not find a husband” (Sorenson, 2002). Furthermore, during World War I it was believed that- due to lack of supervision- the children of suddenly-working mothers would engage in illegal or frivolous activity. Instead, the widening of the perspective of employers with regards to new hires, led to the exploitation and overworking of women and children(Noakes, 2008).

Across the world it is a little-known fact that the Japanese forcefully “recruited” between 80,000 and 200,000 Korean women during the 1940’s to support their war effort. For many years afterward the Japanese government still held that Women’s Rights and Human Rights were separate divisions- an attitude which has made the discussion of “comfort women” a taboo political topic in Japan even today. This history strengthened the argument for Women’s Rights, and in 1992 the United Nation’s Human Rights Commission investigated the abuse of women during the war (Tsutsui, 2006).

Although these women were given no choice it does nothing to strengthen the case for women being involved more heavily in wartime. However, it does make a stronger case for female entitlement to equality (Tsutsui, 2006).

Plato was the first major philosopher to defend women during the discussions of social roles. He came to his conclusions by generalizing typical male and female bodily characteristics and asserting that understanding reality and making appropriate judgments are the two main qualities needed in a protector role. Ergo Platonic logic and philosophy made women the equals of men even in combat, “education… and vital functions within the society” (Kemerling, 2002).

Egalitarianism is a philosophical theory which advocates equality. The Prioritarian argument within the egalitarian realm uses the width of the range between happy and unhappy to determine the urgency of the issue. On the issue of female conscription Prioritarian philosophers recommend that the differences in gender treatment be neutralized and thus approve of women having an equal chance as men to be drafted and maintain that such an action would socially benefit all in the future (Arneson, 2002).

Even within the egalitarian philosophical school there are different perspectives, such as the sufficiency doctrine which theorizes that equal distribution of rights, goods, and services would not morally benefit society nor generally make its citizens any happier. It claims that even a rich man will envy a richer man and thus distribution of wealth does not equal distribution of happiness, as the Prioritarian-egalitarian philosophers postulated (Arneson, 2002).

Lastly, one more egalitarian view has a relevant say on the issue. According to the Principle of Desert, as with an available employment opportunity, chances should be accorded to a person due solely to their personal qualifications. Just as men are disqualified from the draft for many different mental and physical conditions, so should the same apply to women. The question remains: what rights do women deserve (Arneson, 2002)?

The issue of the draft has been considered primarily in democratic countries- with the United States and Britain gleaning the most public support. Even so, the American constitution was written with clear gender bias and distinction, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”. The constitution also urges citizens to provide for the common defense and ensure domestic tranquility. Namely, it does not bar women from military service in instances where emergency recruits are needed “to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions” (Maginnis, 2005).

History speaks for itself in this case as well. All men- regardless of race, wealth, land ownership, etc.- were given suffrage while women were just beginning to gain ground in the area. We finally have an African American president, but we have not had a female commander-in-chief to date. There is a correlation between general social philosophy and history on equality in regards to treatment of women (Maginnis, 2005).

Furthermore, in “Women Should Not be Drafted, Nor Allowed in Combat”, Maginnis states that women are less physically capable of serving in combat units and cites bone fracture rates, muscle mass, and lungpower as evidence of the physical limitations of women (Maginnis, 2005).

According to the National Institute of Health this is an accurate summation. With the onset of puberty in females the release of estrogen and require it for bone mass density. If a woman’s menstrual cycle is light, then her bone density generally will not be as high. Also, women engaging in “excessive exercise”, such as combat, will have a lower bone density. Bone density is directly related to the osteoporosis-related rate of fracture. Because osteoporosis is non-symptomatic until it becomes advanced it will often be discovered when a patient suddenly fractures a bone where it would normally only cause a sprain or mild discomfort (2009).

Another study that the NIH conducted found that the average woman from the ages of 18 to 88 has forty percent less upper body mass than men of the same age and that the gap usually widens at the approximate age of thirty. Weight and height contributed to about half of the differences in body mass. Women are biologically prone to produce a greater amount of body fat content than men (2009).

In a Medical News Today press release the data released concluded that two major contributor to varying levels of lungpower are anger and hostility. The anger and hostility also effects immune function, stress levels, and mental functioning. That brings lungpower (and the other mentioned factors) into the realm of a personal differentiation which cannot be generalized so easily (Medical News Today Staff, 2006).

Hypotheses

The author postulates that:

1. The relevant history of the last one hundred years will reach no definitive conclusion either to support or discredit the assertion that women should not be eligible for military conscription.
2. The conflicting schools of philosophies will reach no definitive conclusion either to support or discredit the assertion that women should not be eligible for military conscription.
3. The scientific data will come to the conclusion that the population of the world will be greatly affected by the potential loss of female life and thus recommend that women either be declared ineligible for conscription or have their number of conscripts limited.

In the course of this paper these three subject areas will bear on the issue of female military conscription and will consider the viewpoints and facts.

Data

In passionate topics it is especially important to be objective, so the accurate collection and representation of data can give us an impartial, pictorial representation of particular aspects. This data can also be used to adjust estimates and measure different forms of progress.

One of the most persuasive scientific arguments is that women are needed for the basic biological purpose of having children. The following chart examines the estimated effect of female deaths on the overall population of the world. The countries of the world were organized into groups of twenty and averaged to determine the mean population and number of children per woman. The average number of children lost per woman deceased was then subtracted from the overall estimated population. Disease was taken into account by the C.I.A. before they put out these estimates (Central Intelligence Agency, 2009).

As one might expect, the population fluctuations due to the increase in the amount of deaths of women who are healthy and- physically, at least- ready to reproduce are barely visually perceptible in the most populated 160 countries. However, the numbers indicate an estimated 3 billion less people would be born in the 20 most populated countries of the world, 320 million overall with 10,000 childless women losing their lives. There is a lot of middle ground. The average number of children per woman ranges from one to six worldwide, but so does the level of need for the labor and replacement of children.

Research Methods

Although women are not drafted now, it is possible to study the successes and limitations of women in combat. For this type of study, it would be necessary to weigh the quantitative and qualitative factors involved.

As for the quantitative data, we have analyzed the potential depopulating effect of the deaths of as few as 10,000 women from one country through the use of the simple statistical chart above (Moffatt, 2010).  We have also seen the many ways in which women are physiologically less suited to combat. We have not seen the same level of studies on the physiological drawbacks of men in combat, so we can logically assume that the studies are biased in nature i.e. it has already been established that men generally can physiologically handle and have historically coped with the rigors of war.

The qualitative features of historical and philosophical experience with women in heavy combat are less definitive. It involves impartiality to the subject and inclusion of subjective details: religious, social, and political perceptions, the reliability of the accounts provided in the context of the time and works of the author, etc.

Findings

The data above suggests that the population of smaller countries would not be able to sustain itself if 10,000 to 100,000 of their female citizens were to perish. Therefore, military conscription of females is not socially and agriculturally viable in smaller societies and would inevitably lead to their collapse. However, more information and statistics would have to be gathered to accurately gauge the effects of female conscription on heavily-populated countries. Examples of these necessary statistics include: amount of overpopulation, death rates of men and women in the same rate in heavy combat areas, scores on weaponry and tactical testing, and the number of gender-targeted assaults in warzones.

Although the majority of countries are overpopulated currently this could be curbed by limiting the amount of children per family or land incentives for population redistribution. The C.I.A. noted above their statistics that their estimates included the rates of deaths in the world due to HIV/AIDS. The onset of disease and plague can decimate a population without warning. Today’s overpopulation can quickly become tomorrow labor shortage (C.I.A., 2009).

Independent Variables

The generalized physicality of women does not support their presence in heavy combat. This is the only point that we can state unequivocally in favor of their exclusion from conscription. The history has granted some credibility to the claim of entitlement of women to equal military consideration, but it has not been established whether- with proper training and equipment- women could or could not keep the discouraging history of women’s conscription from repeating.

Dependent Variables

Philosophy is entirely dependent upon theory. It may be well-supported with fact, but the partiality involved often produces a skewed perspective. In addition, when new evidence is discovered, when a philosopher retracts and replaces his theory (instead of revising it) his credibility is nullified. Thus philosophy is dependent on social and developmental clues and can be vastly different even within the same country, region, and locale. Although the potential for disastrous population decimation is likely it is not an unavoidable fact. It is dependent on the stability of current laws which in some areas of the world limit the number of children permitted.

Limitations

Philosophy is an art and a mental science. The most comprehensive, neutral philosophical world view on female military conscription would employ utilitarianism to tally up the ratio of happiness to unhappiness (or hedons and dolors) that would result from allowance of female conscription for military purposes.  From this philosophical perspective there are positive aspects to female military conscription that are worthy, but the worthiness of these aspects does not outweigh the disadvantages to the status quo.

Conclusion

The facts do not support worldwide drafting of women. On the contrary, they prove that it is not advisable to risk the reproductive capabilities of smaller countries (with codependent citizens and limited resources) especially. They further illustrate that women in general are physically and attitudinally less suited to military life.

Historically and philosophically the Bible supports the limitations of women. One verse in the chapter of Timothy says that Christians “suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence”. First Corinthians requires males to show their authority over females and stresses that “neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man”. The Biblical stance is clear.

Although Islam practice has established a pattern of the oppression of women, the Quran explicitly instructs women to be educated in the same manner as men and given property rights. However, it also describes women as lewd people and thus needing the moral and authoritative influence of men.

Still we cannot definitively answer the recommended course of action according to History and Philosophy. The history of women in heavy combat areas has only recently begun and is still unfolding. Philosophy cannot come to an agreement either due to the conflict between the Sufficiency and Prioritarian theories.

The quantitative data is clearly in opposition to support for female military conscription, and the qualitative data is not cohesive and ambiguous. Until either philosophical theory or a longer history come to a conclusion about women in combat there is no one point strong enough to weigh against the quantitative data.

References

Arneson, R. . (2002). Egalitarianism. The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Retrieved (2010, May 5) from http://www.illc.uva.nl/~seop/entries/egalitarianism/

Central Intelligence Agency . (2009). Country comparison. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2127rank.html

Gold, P., & Solaro, Erin. (2010). Women should be eligible for the draft. Opposing Viewpoints, Retrieved from  http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.vccs.edu:2048/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010506218&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=viva2_tcc&version=1.0

Kemerling, Garth. (2001, October 27). Plato: education and the value of justice. Retrieved from http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/2h.htm

Maginnis, R.L. (2005). Women should not be drafted nor allowed in combat. The Washington Times, Retrieved from http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.vccs.edu:2048/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010527214&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=viva2_tcc&version=1.0

Medical News Today Staff. (2006, September 01). Anger and hostility hasten the decline in lung power. Medical New Today, Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/50887.php

NIH Contributors. (May 2009) Osteoporosis: peak bone mass in women . (2009, May ). NIH, Retrieved from http://www.niams.nih.gov/health_info/bone/osteoporosis/bone_mass.asp

Noakes, L. (2008). Women’s military service in the first world war. Women, War, and Society, Retrieved from http://www.gale.cengage.com/DigitalCollections/whitepapers/GML40407_WomensMilit ary.pdf

Sorenson, A. (2002). Rosie the Riveter: Women Working During World War II. Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/pwro/collection/website/rosie.htm

Tsutsui, K. (2006). Redressing past human rights violations: dimensions of contemporary social movements. University of North Carolina Press, doi: http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.vccs.edu:2048/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=OVRC&docId=A152373428&source=            gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=viva2_tcc&version=1.0