Protected for No Reason
Growing up, I was never able to be alone. I was the only girl in my family at the time so when I would go out, either one or two of my cousins would always have to accompany me wherever I went. Once it got dark, I could not cross the street by myself and until the age of 16, I was finally able to stay home alone for a few hours. I understood the fact that I was the only child, but I still did not understand why I always had to accompanied by one of my male cousins. Growing up with these guys, I had to learn how to defend myself quickly since I was the only girl — I learned how to punch, how and where to kick, and how to defend myself at all costs. I was strong, I was capable, but I was the only one who understood these aspects. This is a constant struggle women go through. The stigma of women having to be protected by a man has to be changed.
Currently around the world, especially in the United States, women are fighting for equality. We want equal pay, equal respect, and equal opportunities as our male counterparts. We are standing up and saying enough is enough, and things need to change for us and for future generations to come. We are making major strides in many aspects, but not being seen as equal when it comes to being able to protect ourselves, decreases the argument that women are equal to men. It is a social construct that has been embedded within society for decades. When it comes to being considered the weaker sex, it manipulates women to think they need to be protected. Women feel like they cannot protect themselves and be responsible for their actions — they would rather shield themselves and fall as a victim, than be warriors and stand up to their aggressors.
This same idea is applied on how women participate within the army and within the police force. In regards to women being able to participate within the armed forces, there is a stigma that women should stay out of such participation. In Lucina Joy Peach’s article Is Violence Male? The Law, Gender, and Violence, she mentions how there is notion within the military mindset that women “need to be protected from the kinds of physical and sexual violence that would be inflicted upon them if they were captured by enemy troops and become prisoners of war”, therefore showcasing the reinforced perception that “both within and outside the military — that women are weak, and consequently, ineffective agents in the use of violence.” In contrast, while there is this mentality that women are not capable of being able to hold their own within the army, in 2011, there were 203,000 women enlisted in the active military — making up approximately 14.5% of the entire active duty force. When it comes to women working in the police force, for a period of time they were excluded from participating in such a career but the “significant opposition to women working in policing and other ‘violent’ professions remains.” The rationale that persists, even within the Supreme Court, is the “protectionist rationale that female prison guards would be less able to protect themselves from violence by the male inmates.” On the other hand, in the same sense as the military, women still sign up to become correctional officers within the jail system — and even work in male prisons. These women do not get any special training on how to deal with male inmates, rather they have to go in and do their job and protect themselves if necessary. Also, this job, as described by Harriet Fox, a female correctional officer in her interview with Cosmopolitan, says the job is “emotionally laboring and you have to learn how to deal with stress and how to remain calm” — something that women do better than men.
When it comes to men and women, there are aspects where women have greater strengths than men. In relation to mentality, women reign over men — women are better equipped in dealing with traumatic events and having higher pain tolerance — making them better survivors; “when it comes to the most basic instinct of all — survival — women’s bodies tend to be better equipped than men’s.” Furthermore, although women are seen weaker than men, there is a false premise in this aspect, as women can be equally as strong as men. A woman, who is fit, “generates the same force per unit of muscle as a similarly fit man” and has stronger legs than men, muscle for muscle — approximately 5.8% stronger. While the numbers are not staggering, it gives the basic knowledge that women can be agents of being able to protect themselves and give the positive outlook that ordinary women, not only those portrayed in films, can be able to fend off anyone because they are not weaker than men, they just do not realize their true capabilities.
By creating the conversation of women being independent from a male’s protection and being forces of power, it allows for the social construct, which has been in place for far too long, to erase itself. Women have to know that they are capable — such idea needs to be reinforced at a young age. Parents can help by taking them to self-defense classes or having them learn a sort of martial art to ensure themselves that their children are skilled in protecting themselves and reduce the anxiety that something could happen to their child. Furthermore, a way that will heighten the change in conversation of this topic is through the perception of media on women, whether it be through women portraying roles of independent warriors — without male counterparts — or by showing women defending themselves against attackers in the news and not as victims. Society has trained women to be vulnerable and look for protection, instead of being their own agents. Changing the perception women have of themselves and how others view women in regards of protection, allows for there to be equal treatment for the sexes to be seen as means of their own protection.
