Accidental post

[aesmael]

Originally published at a denizen's entertainment. You can comment here or there.

Just saw Barnaby Joyce (leader of the National Party) on camera saying he would feel uncomfortable about shooting a woman. in context of potentially opening up all front-line positions in the ADF to women. But surely he is not planning to go to war with Australia, and if those the ADF does engage in combat with, surely this is to their advantage?

He also said he wouldn't want to see a lady shot, but those don't seem like very good arguments to me. Why should the military career paths of women be limited according to whether men are comfortable with their choices?

Nor do I agree with implicit putting of women on a pedestal to be protected. That sort of reasoning mainly benefits men and social conservatism, enabling the policing of whether women are sufficiently worthy of their pedestal and punishing those judged to fall short of the standards set for them by men.

It seems all about what men are comfortable with as a debate, and what men decide on behalf of women, rather than what women might decide or want for themselves, or see themselves as capable of. But I suppose that is what it is about, getting men to realise and accept women as equal partners in all areas of life, rather than possessions or unhuman idols to guard.

Whether an opposition politician would feel personally comfortable shooting a woman should have no bearing on whether women are barred from work they are willing and capable of doing.

Comments

[jessie-c.livejournal.com]

He should be uncomfortable shooting a woman. He should also be uncomfortable shooting a man as well. Only a psychopath wouldn't be. As far as I'm concerned, that argument for keeping women out of combat is both misogynistic and utterly old-fashioned. Would somebody tell this idiot that we're not in the 1950s annymore?

We've allowed women into combat since the 1990s and the sky still hasn't fallen on us. Even our Tories, old-fashined and Patriarchial as they are, haven't turned back the clock on that issue.

[mantic-angel.livejournal.com]

Thank you for saying what I was going to :)

[aesmael.livejournal.com]

Aye. I really should have put a lot of what you said in my post, because it is all true and important. Must have forgotten or been distracted or not thought of it at the time.

So, so, yes, absolutely, as you say.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

Absolutely!

The UK armed forces have had women in combatant roles in all arms for years now- I wasn't aware that the ADF didn't.

As you know, I'm a military historian and it never cease to amaze me how uncomfortable a lot of (male) military historians, especially those who have served, are with the concept.

Dammit! They're even uncomfortable with the concept of a female military historian- we should be at home baking something..........