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I'm assuming that women in combat roles would be pre-menopausal due to their age. What the heck does a woman do, out in the battlefield, when she has her period? I've wondered about this for years. Like, really, what do you do when you're bleeding like a stuck pig, cramping, tired, etc.? Just go off into the bush and change pads?

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I find it hard to believe that any woman welcomes the onset of her monthly menses as a New Agey celebration of life instead of a bloody bore that has to be dealt with.

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[ 05 June 2006: Message edited by: Pride for Red Dolores ]

[ 05 June 2006: Message edited by: Pride for Red Dolores ]

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It just seems to me that these ideas lock into the overall very old, mysoginist ideas that the female body ...is inherently weak, so since woman = body then women are inferior.

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I think you may be reading a bit too much into the first quote to come to this conclusion... From a male point of view, it does seem the innocent question (perhaps not worded the best, I don't like the stuck pig term personally). I have (along with the poster I assume) no experience with this and am curious myself what women in the military go through (and moreover have a strong concern that women are being treated as inferiors because of it). So I don't see that inquiry as mysoginic, but instead an attempt to better understand.

[ 05 June 2006: Message edited by: Noise ]

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Originally posted by Noise:

I think you may be reading a bit too much into the first quote to come to this conclusion... From a male point of view, it does seem the innocent question (perhaps not worded the best, I don't like the stuck pig term personally). I have (along with the poster I assume) no experience with this and am curious myself what women in the military go through (and moreover have a strong concern that women are being treated as inferiors because of it). So I don't see that inquiry as mysoginic, but instead an attempt to better understand.

[ 05 June 2006: Message edited by: Noise ]

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I disagree.

The inquiry uses VERY loaded language and from first glance its intentions suspicious. I mean, comm. on, who says crap like,"..what do you do when you're bleeding like a stuck pig...." What vile language. The imagery is violent and, as a woman who actually experience menstruation, substantially over-stated as well. The author also assumes that all women experience symptoms that make then a “burden” i.e "cramping, tired, etc.?" Women experience a ariety of symptoms that, with the exception of the most serious medical cases, are dealt with quite effortlessly.

This line "Just go off into the bush and change pads?" is especially funny to me. Yes, that is exactly what they do. Why is that so hard to believe that we just manage?

And pads are a relatively new addition to history. What does this author think women did pre-"feminine hygiene product?" Just lay down and die. What about women who don’t have the privilege of running to Shopper’s Drug Mart for “supplies.” Imagine the “mystery” they must inspire in this jerk.

I think the passage is at best insensitive and misguided (not to mention just plain simplistic and absurd) and at worst (likely) misogynistic and aimed at devaluing the capabilities of women in combat (and elsewhere).

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It just seems to me that these ideas lock into the overall very old, mysoginist ideas that the female body (and thus women as women are only bodies with no brains, after all this is what our culture is always saying to us)is inherently weak, so since woman = body then women are inferior.

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I thought what women did monthly helped keep their risk of heart attack down. To my mind, that's one in the "superior" column.

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Originally posted by Michelle:
I guess it wouldn't be possible for women to use a reusable cup like the Diva Cup when they're on a mission, huh? It would probably be hard to get it clean - I tend to sterilize mine before using it.

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Originally posted by nuclearfreezone:
Field hygiene. Excellent term. Quite a few years ago there were several cases of toxic shock syndrome related to the use of tampons.

And what does one do with the spent material, so to speak, when you're in enemy territory and don't want to leave any traces behind? The military must have a procedure for this, I'm thinking. Does anybody know?

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Originally posted by Webgear:
You carry all waste (all garbage) out of the field with you.

I use to carry a water proof bag for waste products.

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Originally posted by Mike878:
You pack it out in a ziploc bag. The same as your crap, TP, and anything else you brought in with you.

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Originally posted by Webgear:
You carry all waste (all garbage) out of the field with you.
I use to carry a water proof bag for waste products.

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Good lord, why? Why not just bury it? It sounds like you guys are hiking in Canadian National Parks or something.

I no longer need to think of our military returning from forays into the more rural parts of Kandahar with their Bison's laden with ... um... zip lock bags.

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Originally posted by siren:
I wonder how conservatives like the Taliban view female coalition forces. Not much different than they viewed Soviet trained female personnel perhaps.

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Unfortunately many Afghans don't know what to make of our women in uniform. I had one female soldier tell me that Afghans just assume they are prostitutes as the Russians brought prostitutes with them and dressed them up in uniforms. On the other hand, women working in Kandahar say that the men down there often treat them as 'honorary men'. I figure that's because they don't really know how to take them otherwise!

There were those few who were considered "honorary men" -- those who took on being "one of the guys" but they were rare. In any case, our status was always viewed through the male lens. Our rank was even designated with an "(F)" following it and all documents carried that designation. I don't know if that's still the case.

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When I was a kid, I was raised by my mother, aunt, and sister. I was the only person in the house who didn't menstruate (being the only male). I remember when my sister hit menarche, there was a big family party for her and I remember feeling somewhat left out of the club. So, I totally don't understand the whole 'weakness' thing that is sometimes assosciated with menstruating, I always considered it somewhat assosciated with the inherent power of womanhood.

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