Should Women be in Combat Roles?

The complicated debate on the role of women in the armed forces. Looking beyond the left and right.

When it comes to women in the military, in particular in combat roles I am of a very conflicted mind.

Be Vary of Gatekeeping

As a leftist I am sensitive to the long history of gatekeeping that the patriarchy has engaged in. We have a long history of claiming women are naturally unsuitable to do almost anything besides cooking food and caring for children. This is why I have a natural skepticism against right-wing claims that women do not belong in the military. We have seen such gatekeeping numerous times before. Most of you are not aware of just how extensive gatekeeping arguments by conservatives have been against women historically and until the present. Let us go through a list of all the areas of society that has historically excluded women and the many absurd reasons given for excluding women.

1. Education

• Higher Education: Women were often barred from universities, with claims they were intellectually inferior or that studying would harm their reproductive health (e.g., 19th-century Europe and the U.S.).
• Reading and Writing: In many societies, literacy for women was…