Academic Studies
A 2008 study by Jennifer M. Silva of female students enrolled in the United States Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program found that the female cadets saw military training as an "opportunity to be strong, assertive and skillful" and saw such training "as an escape from some of the negative aspects of traditional femininity". The female cadets also believed that the ROTC program was "gender-blind" and "gender-neutral". The study claims that female cadets "were hyper-vigilant about their status as women performing tasks traditionally seen as men's work and often felt that they had to constantly prove they were capable".
Silva's study found gender playing a role in how cadets perceive leadership, quoting one female cadet: "in the Navy the joke is that a woman in the Navy is either a bitch, a slut or a lesbian, and none of them are good categories to fall into, and if you are stern with your people then you are a bitch, but if you're a guy and stern people are like, wow, I respect him for being a good leader".
Of the female cadets Silva interviewed, 84 percent said they did not want a military career as it would interfere with being able to get married and have children.
Read more about this topic: Women In The Military
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