The article “ Defending the realm: The appointment of female defense ministers worldwide ” by Barnes & O'Brien (2018) is composed to discuss the changing role of women in the U.S military. The context gives a simple overview of the previous form of the military. In this case, the article shows a noticeable change in the military. The new army of the United States gives women training equal to men. The training includes the use of machine guns, rifles, and explosions. However, women are not involved in real wars. The paper begins with a detailed synopsis that highlights the article’s content. The summary gives an overview of the material from the introduction to the military to the diversion of the mission. The articles give reasons for the change of roles of women in the military. Lastly, the paper ends with an analysis of two sociological theories. The first theory is a feminist, while the other is a structural-functional theory. The theories are discussed differently and later compared to each other. The theories are also evaluated on how they support the chosen article.
Synopsis
On the roots of changing role of women in the military lie different problems ruining the women psychologically. External and internal observers have highlighted the problems. The external sources cite the problem from past wars between the United States and other countries such as Vietnam ( Barnes & O'Brien, 2018 ). The changing roles of women in the military have been caused by the attitude of women, recorded history, sex and sexual symbolism, and institutional mechanism for controlling sex roles.
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The recorded history shows a dozen weaknesses when women are included in the front-line during wars. The records are highlighted from different superior countries that used women to fight the enemy. In the first case, in 1917, Russia used women to fight during the great war as a sign of patriotism. The general military Keresky was forced to replace the troop with men due to uncontrolled pressure from the enemy. During World War I, England used women in the military due to a lack of enough personnel. In this case, the women experienced great torture as they were unable to control the pressure exerted by the enemies ( Barnes & O'Brien, 2018 ). The failure has been taken as a weapon to ruin the equality between women and men in the military. The women are being given small tasks that do relate to the training offered. In this case, women are after retaining their glory by fighting for equal roles.
The attitude of women has played a significant role to change the role of women in the military. The demands of both civilian and military women have called for a significant change in the role of women. The claims demand equal treatment of women in the military. In the previous war against Vietnam, women were forced to take different roles such as nursing, catering, and communication. In this case, the military women were unarmed hence guarded by men. Women responded to the act as inequality between men and women ( Barnes & O'Brien, 2018 ). The demands state that women should be armed with rifles and machine guns regardless of their role. In this case, the role of the women changes from mothering other soldiers to protecting the airbase during wars. Therefore, all women in the military should be armed with rifles similar to those held by men. The main issue was to give the ladies confident psychologically by assigning them better roles that demanded their military training.
Institutional mechanism for controlling sex roles and sex roles are two similar factors. Similar to other organizations, role relation and personal attitudes are controlled by a series of military mechanisms. The overall population of the military is set by quotas or formal allocation. The military mechanism integrated the number of women to participate in a civilian professional or occupation structure. In this case, you find women are allocated in different formal duties depending on their occupation. However, the allocation is unequal, where men are assigned more great posts than women. The military mechanism hires educated military men and women as lawyers and doctors to the military ( Barnes & O'Brien, 2018 ). Education achievements force many military people to different professional duties. However, the allocation is not equal based on gender. Proportionally, men are more privileged. Mainly, military women do not secure prominent formal positions in the government compared to men.
Sociological theory analysis
Structural function theory
Structural function theory majors on explaining the connection of different departments to make a healthy body. The theory argues that different people in an institution works differently towards the same goal. However, the different structures of an institution should work together by passing through a similar path ( Scimecca, 2018 ). The conditions and privileges should be equal among all structures. For instance, a human body is made of different structures such as the nose, legs, and arms. However, the structures work under fair conditions such as blood. Therefore, the structures should work together under similar roles despite the design.
Feminist theory
While it has been men and women through their social interactions and actions, feminist theory has explained the changed social relationship. The theory gives different approaches and perspective. The theory concentrates on issues of inequality, equality, inclusion, differences, feminist approaches, and issues related to sexuality ( Scimecca, 2018 ). The theories connect inequality between people of different standards. On the other hand, the theory also determines the inequality experienced between people of different sex who share similar standards. The theory insists that feminism is primarily related to the social world. The performances and privileges in different institutions are determined by gender. Many females have been unable to enjoy full freedom due to their gender.
The feminist and structural function theory is similar to the perspective of equality. The theories, directly and indirectly, concentrate on inequality in the inclusion of different structures of a body. The theories question whether all structures are given equal privileges related to the main agenda. At first, the theories discuss the importance of equal social recognition ( Scimecca, 2018 ). The main argument in the two theories is that social connection should be built based on a similar foundation. All structures should be recognized equally despite the strength of impact. When recruiting, the initial training should be administered equally. Thereafter, the privileges of using the resources should be similar. A simple adjustment will lead to psychological humiliation.
Each theory relates to the article from different perspectives. The feminism theory will dominate in most parts of the discussion. The theory is related to the article based on the treatment of women in the military. The theory shows aggressive women in their work to have a similar and equal treatment like men of a similar caliber. The main concern is not to rule the men instead of accessing the same treatment given to men. A history of the United States shows that a man sharing the same education standard with a woman receives 23% more salary wage. Like the theory, the article aims at increasing the privileges of women to a similar level with the men in the military. Different examples highlighted in the article supports the argument of the method. For instance, the women demand to be provided with weapons such as riffles and play the role of protecting the camps when other troops are out fighting. On the other hand, military women are not given equal chances to act as senior officers, cadets, and ministry bosses.
Structural function theory insists that the structures of the body should work equally to give similar results. The theory directly relates to the issues being faced by military women. As long as the military women and men are working for similar goals, they should enjoy similar privileges. For instance, it is right to give women simple roles basing on their weaker emotions and poor records. However, the records should not lead to denying them riffles and roles to protect the military camps. Men and women are the main structures that build the military. Therefore, they should have similar privileges despite the duties assigned. At the end of the end, the primary goal to fight and protect the country prevails.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the change of women role in the United States military has been led by different external and internal factors. The article discusses factors such as women attitude and Institutional mechanism for controlling sex roles. The change of role is supported by the feminism and structural theory. The two theories are related in different perspectives connected to equality. The theories have affected the social world in different ways that have resulted in gender inequality. The theories are related to the article basing on several perspectives. However, the main idea that connects the theories to the article is gender inequality. The lives of women sharing similar standard with men are ruined by lack of equal treatment. Similar to other institutions, the military has a mechanism to treat women in a different way from men.
References
Barnes, T. D., & O'Brien, D. Z. (2018). Defending the realm: The appointment of female defense ministers worldwide. American Journal of Political Science , 62 (2), 355-368.
Scimecca, J. A. (2018). Contemporary sociological theories. In Christianity and Sociological Theory (pp. 163-182). Routledge.
