Women Warriors

• Author: Anthony C. King
• Published date: 01 April 2015
• Date: 01 April 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X14532913
• Subject Matter: Disputatio Sine Fine

Disputatio Sine Fine

Women Warriors:

Female Accession to

Ground Combat

Anthony C. King

1

Abstract

In a recent article on female marines in the US Marine Corps, Connie Brownson has

proposed the concept of equivalency rather than equality as a way of understanding

their integration into the organization. Because of their almost inevitable physical

inferiority to their male comrades, women cannot be regarded as fully equal in a

Corps that prioritizes physical strength. However, they are respected and accepted

as equivalent if they can perform their specialist military roles with competence and

professionalism. This response examines the question of equivalence to assess its

adequacy to contemporary gender transformations in the military.

Keywords

integration, gender, equality, discrimination, marines, females, equivalency

In 2016, women will have been integrated into the combat arms in the United

States. Consequently, unless there is an unexpected crisis before then, the next

time America goes to war, some of its combat troops will be female. Notwith-

standing the interesting cases of women disguising themselves as male soldiers

in the American War of Independence and the Civil War, full female accession

will represent a historically unique departure for the United States. Indeed, the

appearance of female combat soldiers in western forces in the last decade seems

1

Exeter University, Exeter, United Kingdom

Corresponding Author:

Anthony C. King, Exeter University, Exeter EX4 4PS, United Kingdom.

Email: a.c.king@exeter.ac.uk

Armed Forces & Society

2015, Vol. 41(2) 379-387

ªThe Author(s) 2014

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DOI: 10.1177/0095327X14532913

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