Do you think military men would respect women in the military more if?

Question

If the military made it manditory for women to shave their heads at basic training like men have to?

Frankly, the fact that they (the armed forces) do not require this for women says volumes. If women can't take that hair cut, why should we put each others lives in their hands?

Shouldn't it be manditory for ALL enlistees?

What I didn't mention was I meant the shaved head as one example of the military not making everyone on an even keel. You can extend this to all aspects- physical tests, etc. Do you think a female that can't hang with identical trials as a man should be admitted/ respected the same? Yes, that would mean fewer women, but who cares if they are as strong as the men?

Answer 1

Sure, if you're talking about front line troops. I can't see it going over well with support personnel, though, of either sex.

Answer 2

No, haircuts mean nothing really.

The entire reason that men don't accept women in the military is because in the ground level troops (where this debate is set), the only thing that sets people apart is how manly they are. How tough they are. How accurate you can shoot. Real male competition to be the alpha-male.

That's exactly what you want from an army isn't it really? The toughest, strongest people to do the best job.

The shave homosexual male's heads too but they still get picked on. Due to the really testosterone-fuelled nature of the military, and all the aggression and guns etc, a woman simply wouldn't be accepted.

Shaving the hair would do nothing to stop this.

Answer 3

I agree, though maybe instead of shaving their heads just a very short cute, think Halle Berry without styling products. If it can be tied into a ponytail it's too long for basic training, and a bob or such would get in the way because it's long but can't be tied back. I'm an ARMY brat myself and when I went to base to visit my dad I always wondered why the women got special treatment when they claimed they should be looked at as a soilder, not a women.

Answer 4

No, this is retarded. The military actually prohibits women to shave their head or make their hair incredibly short. The battle of the sexes will persist on for many years, but a matter so small as shaving their hair would not only be insignificant but a less than worthy attempt. This doesn't prove a thing about the military and how it works. Its maintenance of standards. Not a petty GI Jane movie, wake up.

Answer 5

I wouldn't respect them more at all. I wouldn't expect a women to have my haircut any more than I'd expect to wear a bra. The military is very conscious of being presentable to the public as disciplined professionals. A women with her hair up in a tight bun wearing conservative make up and jewelry looks very disciplined and professional. I want a women whos strong enough to drag me out of harms way if need be and tough enough to kill the enemy when threatened. They don't need short hair to do that. And more than anything the bald head in basic is to make everyone the same to instill a team way of thinking. So if you think about it 20 bald guys who used to have different haircuts it's just as drastic if you can picture 20 women with the same pulled back haircut.

Answer 6

Women cannot shave their heads for the same reason that men cannot grow their hair long. The military is very big on traditional gender roles, and all women in the military must look like women and all men in the military must look like men. Them's the rules.
Women still have lower pt standards than men in some events. The sit ups standards are the same. Many women believe that the push up standards should be the same as well, because it is perfectly possible for a woman to build the same kind of upper body strength as a man (but then you run into issues with the women must look like women rule), but I suck at push ups so I'm not going to pitch a fit about it myself. The run time is different for the valid physical reason that men and womens hips are shaped differently, causing men to take a longer, straiter step and women take a shorter curved step. In other words, assuming all other variables are exactly the same, it is physically impossible for female hips to cover as much distance in the same amount of time as male hips. Emphaisis on the words "assuming all other variables are the same".
However, appearance and preformance is hardly what creates gender bias in the military. There are many Females in the military who do not appear at all feminine and wear their hair as short as they are allowed, they still suffer from the same problems as anyone else. There are many females in the military who out preform the men on the PT field and on the rifle range, they still suffer from the same problems as anyone else. During my deployment my run times were faster than half of the infantrymen I was deployed with, and I run slow. I was still subject to sexual harassment, stalking and thousands of EO violations, just like the women who ran faster than me, the women who ran slower than me, the women who's hair was longer than mine and the women who's hair was shorter than mine.
Gender bias in the military is part of a larger gender bias problem in society as a whole. It is severely exemplified in the military because of the high stress nature of the job, sexual tension between service members in a sexually repressive environment and the fact that the military is so traditionally male dominated.
In many, the Military is much more liberal about gender roles than the civilian population is. According to an article published on military.com in 2005 (or possibly 04, I know it was during my deployment), DoD was pushing to allow females in certain infantry positions, but it was Congress who shot the idea down.

Answer 7

You get respect by:
1. Giving respect
2. Doing you job well
3. Watching out for other troops

A shaved head means nothing. In fact if you get sunburn on that shaved head and miss duty, an Article 15 may be waiting for you.

Answer 8

Nah the hair isn't an issue I think it stems from the lessened physical fitness tests they go thru not sure if they still do but back when i was in the marines they had to do about half of what a male marine had to do

Answer 9

the reason women don't shave their heads is because (even though we are military) we have to look professional at all times. and think about it a woman with a shaved head is does NOT at all look professional.
military members (men and women) present themselves to others all the times and they have to maintain a professional appearance.
besides shaving the head would do nothing
Chicago has it completely right
about women being able to shoot the enemy if threatened and pull their partner out of harms way if they get shot

Answer 10

thats just bull s***....lol....thats extremely ignorant, theres alot more to a woman being fit for the military than her hair, actually thats not even a issue,the endure so much,physically and mentally, wow. moron go stick your head in the sink. =/