Kayla Williams had a terrible foot injury while serving in Iraq. Surgery was needed, but she postponed it because she would have to go back to the U.S. for her operation, and wouldn’t be able to return back to Iraq to continue with the Army. Kayla says that there were a lot of people trying to fake being sick or hurt just to get out of the military, but Kayla wanted the opposite, she wanted to heal, and then return to her duty. While in Iraq, Kayla says, “My friends thought I was nuts. People were trying to get out. To go home…” (229)
Certain soldiers were pretty sly and devious, coming up with different ways to get “booted out” or sent home from the Army. Once again, there isn’t true equality between women and men in the Army, and it can cause more issues and problems for one gender than the other-which is completely unfair.
For example, if a person is Homosexual, “That would work-but it’s more likely to work if you’re a guy because there’s a double standard. On paper the rules on homosexuals in the military are written he same.” (229) Unfortunately, that is looked down upon, and seen as something nauseating, “But in reality most men in the Army-like most men in U.S. society-think that girl-on-girl action is hot, while dudes getting it on is filthy and disgusting.” (230)
* INTERSTING PASSAGE *
“Army guys generally think that lesbians rock, since clearly these are chicks just waiting for the right man to come along. What would my first sergeant do if he came across me and another girl getting it on? He’d want pictures. He’d want to join in. He’d want me and this other girl to double-team him right then and there. On the other hand, since most heterosexual men are homophobic and sexist, most straight guys figure gay men will treat them the way they themselves treat women-that is, like sex objects. And this freaks them out. What this all means in practical terms is that females are less likely to be chaptered out (that is, forced out) of the Army for being gay than are guys. That’s just the way it is.” (230)
If for what ever reason a woman really wanted or needed to go back to her country, it would be very hard to just quit out of the Army. But if a man who didn’t feel like serving anymore wanted to drop out, all he would have to say is, “I’m gay.” These inequalities between genders are ridiculous, and in the end, all it is doing is just creating more problems and hurdles that women have to jump over, while men just have to walk their way there.
1 comment:
The older I get the more it seems to me a lot of men these days are useless. Many of them treat women with no respect as if women are just a sexy figures that they get to play around with. I don't get why some men love the fact that a woman may be bisexual or a lesbian. Have they ever thought some women turned out to be like that because of their view upon some disgusting men? Kayla is a strong woman. She wants to go back into the world to fight for her country while some of those men wants to chicken out and are finding a way to get out of there. It takes a lot of courage to be fighting in that war because there could be a chance that they won't be coming home. My ex-boybriend wants to join the army and go fighting in the war if it's still going on when he joins and to me he's one of the bravest and strongest guys I know. I know he won't be like those other guys who will bail out when things get rough. For a woman to give up her life to fight for her country is a courageous thing to do. I believe Kayla should be known just like all the other women who went to fight and also the men who doesn't chicken out to go home.
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