My own personal definition of feminism, unequivocally, is the simple idea that women and men are equal in all ways. Ergo, all human beings should have the same opportunities to pursue whatever avenue of life they so desire, period.
There are obviously exceptions. The common example I give is the fact that, at 5’2”, I could never have been a basketball star, at least the flashy kind that dunks and stuff. Being held back from that hypothetical dream due to being vertically challenged, however, is far different than being told I can’t pursue something because I have a vagina rather than a penis.
That is just asinine.
But it turns out that not everyone agrees with that, including Captain Katie Petronio, a female Marine officer.
In response to the frankly far-too-late decision to allow women to train as infantry officers, Petronio has … well, a very old-fashioned and—I’m just going to say it—sexist view of things.
From MSNBC:
Come September, a small group of young female Marines will break through one of the last bastions of macho in the U.S. military. They’ll be the first class of female officers to take part in the grueling Infantry Officer Course in Quantico, Va., a test of both physical fitness and mental will that prepares the corps’ future platoon leaders.All of these women will be volunteers, and their training will be closely watched. The new coed class has sparked suggestions that such training could lead to integrating women in the Marine infantry, with some saying they “would make excellent grunts.”
Sounds good, right? Equality, and a coed class, no less, which further underscores the idea that fragile little women might be getting special treatment.
Not according to Petronio, though, who claims that, “Infantry is one of those fields we need to leave alone.” After hearing about the work of advocates for women’s rights in the military, Petronio actually wrote an article called “Get Over It! We Are Not All Created Equal” for the Marine Corps Gazette.
Now, obviously Petronio has served in the military and certainly knows things that I don’t. However, how a …