The always excellent blog and website No Caption Needed has this terrific article about a photo essay in the New York Times The Female Marines about an all women unit in the US Army 6th Marine Regiment in Helmand Province in Afghanistan.
The all women unit of US soldiers aims to win over Afghan women so they identify with the female US soldiers as women, rather than members of an occupying army.
No Caption Needed points out the absurdity of the idea and critiques the New York Times photo essay:
"That wars such as the one we are fighting in Afghanistan are a struggle for hearts and minds is obvious, and it should give us serious pause as we continue to commit to the use of military force as a way of overcoming the influence of the Taliban in a country that has withstood occupation for centuries. But more, we need to challenge the notion that such force and occupation can be made less noxious or troublesome—let alone more successful—by trying to feminize it. In the end, female marines with guns are, well, simply marines with the guns".
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