The Naked Citadel Analysis

My oral history project is based off of the book "Ashley's War" by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. This book brought to my attention that women in the military, though underappreciated, have played a colossal role in the removal of the ban on women in combat positions.

Since being established in 1842 as a public military college, the Citadel was a college filled with many tradition and pride that seem to discriminate against female applicants. However, the Citadel’s way of accepting and admitting student has to be challenged at some point in time. In Susan Faludi’s essay, “The Naked Citadel”, Malcolm Gladwell’s essay, “The Power of Context”, Tim O’Brien’s essay, “How to Tell a True War Story”, the authors all came to the conclusion that the actions portrayed by the individuals could have been influenced by their behavior. Gladwell’s theories about the environment and human behaviors can help explain the changes that occurred at the Citadel. The Broken Windows Theory can help explain how the

After reading the essays “The Naked Citadel”, selections from “Hard To Get” and from “Alone Together” by Susan Faludi, Leslie Bell, and Sherry Turkle, readers are presented with the idea of wants vs. needs. Ideally, a desire and a necessity in life should be clearly distinguishable, but that is not always the case in reality. For example, take an adult human being and a robot programmed to feel emotions. We as humans have a natural tendency to yearn for companionship and togetherness, for we are social creatures by nature to some extent. Where robots tend to lack in social relations, it makes up for in the technology that makes the robots alive to a point that can be related to by humans, yet can operate and obey the human’s wishes seemingly indefinitely. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if some humans preferred to have more robotic and obedient friends that are always there for them as opposed to having real friends who need to prioritize other stuff over them first. In these cases, what one wants is to have a friend, but one needs to not be lonely as it’s not healthy to go through life without having anyone to talk to. We perceive some desires as needs such as love, affection, success, companionship, etc. Arguably, these are just as valid as biological needs in order to lead a fulfilling life. Overall, people tend to have similar needs and desires that are subjectively authentic to them. However, the degree of importance for each need or desire can be affected by

Perceptions on females transitioned from this ladylike view, to an image of a capable, brave, woman who works in a ammunition factory while running her own home in the process. In turn, female influence extended to industries, offices, and even the army. At the war’s climax, the

Even though women have made tremendous advances throughout the years in the military the demeaning terminology still remains. In the early decades of women being allowed into the United States

The mind is a very powerful tool, yet we are able to be manipulated by what we see as well as manipulate others. If we get to analyze a person and know his strength and weaknesses, eventually we will be able to have control over them or persuade them to do as we say. The cadets at The Citadel, are described to be the leaders who are training the knobs, freshman, to be “real men” who are seen to be women, in Susan Faludi’s essay “The Naked Citadel”. Jean Twenge talks about how she explores the evolving idea of “self” and how self-esteem is to be questioned to determine if it is healthy or not. Along with bringing up the idea about how narcissistic people are not healthy for the environment or community. Twenge’s idea about “self” and narcissism

The Battle of Bunker Hill had just been fought. As soldiers, we had suffered defeat, by our British enemies. I was one of the lucky ones, who survived. What makes it even more unusual, about my survival, was, that I was a girl, who was dressed as disguise of a colonist fighter. Now a question, can be arised. What was a girl doing in an army, that was, only, intended for men? Well, there are a couple of reasons, why I joined the army. First of all, the first reason, that I enlisted, was because I was daring. I was not happy with how the British were treating us. I hated, that the British imposed a tax on tea, which was my favorite type of drink. So, that is why, I joined for a cause. However, there was, only, one problem. I knew, that women were not allowed to join the army. So I cut my hair, and disguised myself, as a boy. Nobody recognized, in reality, that I was, actually, a girl, dressed in a soldier's uniform. Finally, there was a third major reason, I joined. Though, Deborah Sampson was a woman, she joined the army, for a cause, as well. She was my inspiration, that made me join the army,

The second question is what the impact of this change in military culture and tradition and resulting conflict? Donovan writes about the “battle” between the two differing ideas of military tradition and social changes ideas. She explains this fight between them is still ongoing as military tradition still is “Drawing from a combat, masculine-warrior paradigm, traditionalists stress that the military’s core activity remains combat, and that the military should not be a laboratory for social experimentation.”(Donovan, p.11). Because of that conflict,

Women have played an instrumental role in every American conflict from the Revolutionary War to today complex battlefields. A major turning point for women’s rights was the establishment of the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. WAAC soldiers fought to gain legitimacy within the military and overcome social biases. Their professionalism and determination paved the way forward for women’s integration into one all military branches. The best way to illustrate women’s integration is to start back in colonial times.

There is a massive difference between wanting to keep a tradition alive and being so avid about living in sameness that it becomes dangerous. Fluidity and being open to revision is necessary in order to survive in an ever changing environment. In The Naked Citadel, Susan Faludi recounts the events that occurred during the period that Shannon Faulkner fought for acceptance to the Citadel, the military college of South Carolina. Throughout this time, the school community experienced utter chaos as a result of mixed emotions about letting a female gain the honor of becoming a cadet. In The Minds Eye, Oliver Sacks shows the necessity of change in order to survive by describing the changes that blind people made in their lives in order to become as successful as they are today. When an individual is forced to change, they are more likely to tackle the situation with an open mind as a method to make the best of that situation. In contrast, when change is not necessary, it can be much more difficult to adapt due to the presence of fear and insecurities.

In Women in the Military, Janette Mance explores the debates and problems faced by the increasing number of women involved in the military. After examining issues such as pregnancy, sexual harassment, and rape, Mance concludes that as a society we must continue to strive for gender equality.

Furthermore, women are often seen as a symbol of cultural preservation and a measure of family honor. In conditions of war and colonial rule, which represents an attack on men’s honor and dignity, attention to women’s roles as prescribed by cultural tradition is often intensified. However, the unusual conditions of war and resistance to colonial rule also may provide openings for women to reconfigure their roles and rights, based on new needs of society.

During the Civil War, certain events had taken place that have changed our nation as a whole. The social aspect of these changes to our country have shifted the way we interact with each other from the end of the Civil War to present day. A major social change that occurred during the war resulted from the Emancipation Proclamation. Although this social change took place during the war, its effects lasted well past the end of the Civil war. The change was how people negatively viewed the freed slaves and how they reacted to them integrating within their society. There were also positive social changes that resulted from the war regarding a woman’s role in society. As a result of the men fighting in the war, the women were able to take on roles that they would never normally do. The social changes that occurred in our country as a result

The text I have chosen to speak on is in a movie called G.I Jane. This movie came out in 1997 and this movie talks about a chairperson of the military budget committee forces the Navy secretary to start a gender integration to allow or give opportunity to women to train for the U.S Navy elite and a woman named Lt. Jordan O’Neill is given the opportunity to try out for this elite team but no one expects her to pass, through the training which has 60% drop out rate for men, but despite all this she is determined to prove everyone wrong.

Throughout The Things They Carried, society’s antagonizing treatment towards the soldiers and veterans is symbolized through O’Brien’s characterization of women as selfish, insensitive, and ignorant.