Men Are Not Cannon Fodder: Gender Equality Remains Overlooked In Times Of War

I feel this so much. Thanks for writing about how men are considered expendable. Your post reminds me of a video I watched ages ago when I was young and dumb.

A US military helicopter launched a missile at a group of people during the gulf war. His co pilot says, "I think those were ours". In horror, the airman says, "...I'm ruined. I thought those were enemies, I killed people." The group of people were all men, so it was easy to assume they were enemy combatants. Of course any person considered an enemy is no longer a person, but this is a different story. I remember it so clearly because it was one of the first times my young mind heard blatant cognitive dissonance from someone I just assumed would know better.

I just feel awful about the gendered expectation to commit violence as some type of ideal good. As you say, the erasure of women in combat is the other side of the coin. Their sacrifice's mean nothing because it's not on "unexpected", it's out of character. Aren't all women just supposed to be nurturing and caring? A woman resistance fighter? Never.

I hope that humanizing everybody makes the world just a bit better. This is going to sound super f weird, but I'm sort of glad that most of these comments come from older people with older expectations. It makes me feel like us pointing out how absurd it is, is a sign of the world changing.

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Certainly the ideal answer to this is “no one should be getting killed; its all nonsense.” Unfortunately tho, we seem to be still quite a few miles from that rest area.

Whats the realistic answer here then? Is it the point putting a light to the cavalier fashion given to the discussion of mens deaths; (which should be happening). Or is there something on the other side of the equals sign for what should be the discussion instead? Im clear it isnt to suggest that women are somehow equally as “expendable” as men but, I do admit Im not seeing whats otherwise between the lines.

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Not much here I find surprising.

A good example of systematic sexism.