When a Washington Post article about the possibility of women being allowed to serve on submarines popped into my newsfeed this morning, it was kind of a no-brainer that misogynistic reader comments would abound. Still, I wasn’t expecting one commenter to suggest women ”were sterilized” before taking the plunge, or that another would recommend a plumber for all the tampons that block up the pipes on the seafarer. Do people really still think like this? Honestly?
Even the chief of naval operations, Admiral Gary Roughead, said he is ”very comfortable addressing integrating women” onto subs. The issues he cited as problematic are shared bathroom space and women’s low rate of retention in the Navy. Come on now: in college I shared a bathroom with seven dudes without a hitch, and if a woman is willing to commit to living in a cramped quarter for six months, I think she knows what she’s in for.
What do you think the real issue is? Perhaps someone can lend some real-life military expertise to the situation.
Photo courtesy Hub Pages.
