The United States Marine Corp does not claim to have mere soldiers, but warriors. A Marine is the warrior of the United States Armed Forces. In boot camp the warrior is trained to fight and kill without thinking, pure instinct.
The Webster Comprehensive Dictionary International Edition says: war-ri-or (wor'e-er, -yer, wor'-) n. A man engaged in or experienced in warfare; one devoted to a military life.
Is The Webster Comprehensive Dictionary International Edition sexist? Are the editors: Fredrick G. Cassidy, Albert H. Marckwardt, and James G. McMillian, all professor's of English, sexist? Are all men, to a certain degree, sexist?
The Citadel is a South Carolina, a state funded, university that has a large Marine Corp ROTC program. Four women joined the male cadets last year, an event that was forced upon the all male 154 year old military based college by a Supreme Court ruling. This ruling declared the all male admission policy, at the state supported Citadel, was unconstitutional. The battle against coeducation began in 1993, when the school mistakenly accepted Shannon Faulkner; thinking she was male. The war was waged so fiercely, and with such ill will, that when Faulkner withdrew after less than a week, the victorious screams of the other cadets was shown on national television.
Why is it that these male cadets and their leaders are so against the integration of females in the school. According to Bem Sex Role Inventory, people perceive some characteristics as more masculine than feminine and some as more feminine than masculine. Individuals who respond to the scale indicate which items are and are not characteristic of them. People tend to adopt sex roles that are traditionally masculine, traditionally feminine, both, or neither. The male characteristics were amongst others: leader abilities, dominant, forceful, aggressive, and willing to take risks. The female characteristics on the other hand were; gentle, tender, warm , and compassionate. According to Bem, males who express the masculine traits, are more likely to be violent and aggressive, than others who did not express these traits as typical for males. The military wants its "warriors" to be aggressive, forceful and willing to take risks in order to survive battle. People who are drawn to the military and especially the Marines, are therefor more likely to poses these traits. This would explain the attitudes of the cadets at the Citadel. They are more than likely prone to express masculine traits, and believe that ...