10 Arguments Against Women In Combat That Katniss Everdeen Thinks Are BS

A year ago today, the U.S. military announced that it would allow women to be assigned to ground combat units and jobs. Unfortunately, the Department of Defense and the Services haven’t made much progress and servicewomen are still being kept out of tens of thousands of combat positions.

Some people believe that women aren't badass enough to fight on our frontlines. We know that's BS, because women have served alongside men on the ground in combat zones for at least the last decade. That's why we've enlisted the help of Katniss Everdeen, our favorite fictional heroine, to fight back against the 10 most ridiculous things that have been said about women in combat.

1. “Carry this feminist-egalitarian ideology to its logical conclusion, and half of those storming the Omaha and Utah beaches should have been girls and women. Is this not an absurdity?” – Pat Buchanan

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Oh puh-leeze. No one is suggesting that the military should have a perfect gender split. We’re saying that qualified servicewomen who want to compete for elite military positions or be on the frontlines should have the opportunity to do that.

2. “Anatomical differences between men and women are as important as strength differences. A woman cannot urinate standing up." – Mackubin Thomas Owens

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More than a dozen women have passed the Marine Corps’ infantry training course, which includes a 12.5 mile hike through the woods while carrying an 85-pound pack, in the last couple months. Something tells us these women are hardcore enough to squat to pee. Plus women CAN stand to pee these days.

3. “If young women are assuming greater risk to their health or their children by volunteering for combat duty (or military service) compared to male soldiers, they ought at least to know it.” – Maggie Gallagher

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Not every woman wants to have children. And all service members, regardless of gender, understand that combat duty can be dangerous. Take a sec to read up on the women who volunteered to be members of Female Engagement Teams in Iraq and Afghanistan.

4. “Chivalry is one of the great civilizing forces... It is already on life support, but sex-integrated combat units will provide the coup de grace.” – Heather MacDonald

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You know what’s chivalrous? Not discriminating against qualified women. You know what else is chivalrous? Letting our servicewomen answer the call they hear in their hearts.

5. “Women can do many things as well as men, some things better than men, but killing people and breaking things, the fundamental purpose of the military, is not one of them.” – Washington Times

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Says who? Servicewomen who want to be in combat, and are trained, can and will do what they must. During an ambush in Iraq, Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester killed at least three enemy combatants and received a Silver Star for her bravery. Stop telling women what they can or can’t do.

6. “Amputated limbs, traumatic brain injury, suicidal tendencies, direct encounters with the worst of mankind — are these what Americans want for our mothers and daughters?” – Thomas P. Kilgannon

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Servicemembers put their lives and limbs at risk out of a sense of duty and willingness to sacrifice for their country and their fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. That’s true regardless of gender. The dream is to let women protect and defend their country and their own freedom to the best of their abilities, just as men do.

7. “Opening front-line units to women is a bad idea not because women are insufficiently brave or smart or technically skilled.... [The] inevitable relaxation of standards will make combat even more dangerous for everyone.” – Kevin O’Brien

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Who said anything about lowering standards? Gen. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Services need to validate their military occupational standards and let women compete to meet those standards. And let’s not forget the fabulous enlisted Marine Corps women who just passed the infantry course. They met that standard and passed.

8. “Too much of the discussion of issues... is based on questions about whether women can do the same tasks as men with equal efficiency. The real question is whether either sex functions as well with the other sex around.” – Thomas Sewell

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Huh?? This is just insulting to both men and women. Women have served alongside men in the military for decades, including in combat zones during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Saying that men can’t function well with women around is also challenging the professionalism of men.

9. “These men understand that they are different -- mentally and physically -- from women and want to stay that way. They have wives and girlfriends at home. They don’t have them as fellow warriors who they train and fight alongside.” – Jed Babbin

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Except “these men” are already training and fighting alongside women. The Marine Corps, for example, already has Female Engagement Teams, in which women Marines live with and go on missions with infantrymen in active combat zones.

10. “Just look at the plot [of] "The Hunger Games." … Already, the side effects of abandoning traditional female stereotypes--like the notion that girls are extremely sensitive...--are apparent.” – Dr. Keith Ablow

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You heard it here first, folks: Katniss Everdeen and our country’s female troops are crushing traditional female stereotypes. How devastating.