Humans At Arms

This article from the Sunday New York Times evoked so many questions and stirred so many emotions, I decided to share it… and perhaps inspire some dialogue?

As I read the article, I struggled even with the inherent conflict held in the title, “Women at Arms.” In my experience of life as a woman, the whole concept of using “arms” as weapons seems unnatural to me. Ever since I was a child I found war absurd and believed in resolving differences without violence. I believe I experience an innate “maternal” instinct to protect and care for living things; especially for other human beings. These traits, along with others, like the tendencies to adapt, cooperate, compromise, or retreat, I have often associated with my female-ness. So, when I read this article about “women at arms” I began to question: How much of my perspective actually comes from being a woman? And are the sexes really that fundamentally different?

I have believed women are biologically pre-disposed to nurture and protect life and it goes against our biological, if not moral, fiber to destroy it. I have believed men are more prone to violence and destruction, and killing other human beings is more acceptable, or natural, to them.  I apathetically read articles about ‘men at arms’ every day, yet I read one article about “women at arms,” and I am deeply disturbed. Why is this? “War is no place for women,” I thought, as I read this article. Is it a place for men? Do I have less concern or empathy for men? Do I see them as less human? Why do I view the use of force by men as natural yet by women unnatural? Is it? Or are destructive and nurturing tendencies just as prevalent in both sexes yet disproportionately expressed? If women were physically equal to men, would we use force just as readily? Do men have “maternal” instincts too? From the article Pink Brain, Blue Brain I posted about a few weeks ago, it seems our beliefs and prejudices play a large role in the existence of gender stereotypes and our actualization of them. What if the pre-dispositions we experience as gender related are not so, or at least not in the way we think?

Renee Peloquin, 25, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, served in Tikrit, Iraq, with her state's National Guard. She worked as a radio operator and received the call when her best friend was killed.