To have said that women should be drafted equally to men??

[Pukkajones]

Chatting to a group of friends about the state of the world etc and while in theory I’m against conscription and forced national military service I did say that I think it’s right that there is more equality in girls/women being treated the same as boys/men in the countries that have service.
One friend who has 3 teen girls really had a go at me and got very upset. I have a teen boy and teen girl. While I hate the idea of EITHER being forced to enter the military I think they should be treated equally ( roles allowing - ie some combat roles aren’t open to women) if it came to it. ‘it’ being an actual war with Russia and/or its allies.

it got VERY heated, even though I and another friend pointed out that there are many non-combat roles in the military. And that if we did end up in a World War we’d likely have a role in it regardless of sex or age.

YABU - only men should be drafted
YANBU - in the modern world both sexes should serve in the military.

So you want us drafted, in the name of equality ?

If you're asking me then no I dont want to see women drafted. I dont want anyone forcibly sent to fight. But i am a mother of young sons. I think its very easy to say things like women shouldn't be sent because they're more valuable to keep the population going - especially if you are a women without children so worried about yourself, or a mother with only daughters, so other people's children are obviously less valuable to you than your own, but im just showing where that argument logically leads. To womens value being solely in breeding is that what you want? I don't.

Not exclusively, but reproduction is a core part of what defines life. That’s a simple biological reality. You can’t just wish it away. Women also carry most of the physical burden that comes with it: pregnancy, childbirth, and the long-term health risks tied to both. That alone makes them crucial for the survival and stability of any society.

This doesn’t limit who they can be or what they can do.

I agree with you here. But the logical follow through of forcing men to fight (and maybe die) but not women because they are useful for breeding is surely forcing women to breed. Gilead style society.

Depends what it entails really. Drafted for combat/frontline? Absolutely not.

Men have started wars for thousands of years so why should women be forced to start fighting in them? Women aren't safe in the UK so imagine in a warzone. The amount of sexual assaults in the army is a shocking already. If shit really hit the fan, women were drafted for the front line then you'd be at the mercy of your unit and the enemy. Rather not thanks. Life is hard enough for women, they shouldn't be forced to fight in their wars too in the name of equality.

I agree with equality but there is no equality in the army. The levels of rape, sexual assault and sexism faced by women in the army is great and those that speak out against it are punished. So no I do not think women should be forced into this.
But I also don’t agree with conscription economic or forced. One would hope that humanity could find a better way of sorting our differences than killing each other.

This is interesting as people are very focused on the front line as that was clearly the worst bit of ww1 and ww2. But not even all men that were drafter, were drafted to the front line.

Everyone seems to forget that women were 'called up' in WWII from 1941 single women aged 18 - 60 had to register. Unmarried 'mobile' women could be called up and sent anywhere. In reality most had the choice of joining a particular service, working in industry or working in the land army.

They were not on the frontline but they undertook dangerous work. Riding a motorcycle through the Blitz when the public are in shelters was not a lot of fun I'm sure.

Women were lost 'in action', we just don't hear much about them.

Everyone seems to forget that women were 'called up' in WWII from 1941

It has been mentioned several times already.

If it had to go that way I think it’d have to be both. Roles should be fit to person tho.
it turns my stomach that people are even talking about this. Optional military service to be offered to both also.

Good job it's a completely ridiculous scenario then that you have completely made up. Of course that wouldn't happen, just like it didn't happened before when men were conscripted when there was another war on.

Yanbu so long as both sexes have equal access to non-frontline roles. If it became necessary to mobilise large quantities of people to serve the nation there would be enormous numbers of roles that didn't require any face to face fighting. The physical capacity of the strongest and fittest males exceeds the physical capacity of the strongest and fittest females, but the physical capacity of the strongest and fittest females exceeds the physical capacity of the average males. Also in modern conflict there's much more need for strategising and problem-solving rather than brute force - we aren't lining up the nation's youth in trenches and a lot of young women will have a lot to contribute.

A military of unwilling conscripts isn't an effective fighting force though and the army do not want compulsory conscription because an unwilling soldier is more a liability than an asset. If they do anything like this it should be a broad form of national service where the military is just one option and there are parallel paths in health services, food production and administration where serving the country as a whole means more than just fighting, so that the ones who do end up in the military have had enough personal choice in the matter that they participate willingly.

Well of course it's made up. Im just pointing out how crap an argument it is to say young women shouldnt fight because they're too useful to keep the population going.
Young men and women are both useful. Neither should be forced to risk their lives to fight a war started by old men who will never have to fight themselves.

This thread is eye opening. What a dearth of common sense!

If we really don’t want to send our young out to fight, we need to treble defence spending now. A lethal fighting force is a deterrent.

A man could also be sexually assaulted and face discrimination though.

In later years, yes but there were minimum requirements initially and many men failed them.

A made up scenario isn't an argument, it's just nonsense.

There have been women that were behind wars too Mrs Thatcher for a start with the Falklands. Elizabeth the 1st didn’t actually start any wars but was very harsh towards Ireland and she wasn’t backward at coming forward in sending troops out to defend against spain .Bloody Mary burnt protestants. And that’s just a examples in the UK.

Hmmm yes I was there, I do know....... im stating the amount of women on the front line are carrying extra weight/equipment.

Google Channing Day...... a gorgeous courageous medic who died saving the men the she was supporting!!!

Uh huh well that's me told then. It's actually reasonable to use a 'made up scenario' to show the fallacy in a made up reason as to why women shouldn't be drafted. Using the argument that they are needed to restart the population, so men should be drafted as they are expendable is bollocks. Unless of course you follow through that argument to show what women restarting the population actually means. I mean if you're happy to send other people's sons to fight and maybe die for you because you believe as a woman you're 'special' just own it. Or come up with a reason that actually follows through as to why.
I personally dont want ANYONE'S children sent to fight against their will thanks.

I think we are seeing the fact that when your country is attacked women may have to just have to get on with it. I think especially if your country is invaded or attacked you don’t have the luxury of saying things like “well the men start wars they can fight”.

Also drafts and conscription is for the shit really hits the fan, can’t imagine any of the professionals would be actually looking forward to working with your average brit (man or woman). So yeah if someone invaded I would be terrified but do whatever was asked of me.

Lets hope it never happens I don’t want my kids or anyone else’s to have to fight, male or female.

Same

I found out something today I had no idea about. Munitions in WWII were taken by road, train, and canal boats.

The canal boat operators were mostly women over 50. It wasn't a fast way to move things but the Germans thought they were civilian boats taking coal and pottery around.

The first operators were women who had been part of family businesses but later women were specifically trained.

I think the problem with 'equality' is that it never is. When the police amalgamated they actually just moved the women into the men's police. All the expertise the women's force had was just thrown away.