Is it sexist for not being willing to punch a woman?

[Beautiful Blue Kangaroo]

I served in the Infantry / never worked with female soldiers for the first 2-3 years I was in the ARMY. I got certified as a Modern Army Combatives instructor, and one of my tasks was performing this drill on students:

I had no problem with this task / drill until one day some female soldiers showed up in my class. When I refused to punch a woman because it went against my core values I was labeled as a sexist / male chauvinist pig. I nearly got a Court Martial, and for a brief time period I really thought my Military Career was going to be in ruins because of this.

In your opinion did my lack of willingness to punch a woman in the face make me a sexist?

[I Shall Grant You NoMercy]

Eh, kinda.
I really don't see why everyone thinks woman are too "delicate" and "weak" to be punched by a man.
From personal experience, we can actually take a lot to the face.

[Lievearn]

So if you were discriminating against her on the basis of her sex?

Yes, you refused to properly train a soldier because she was a woman.

That, and you discriminated against her by not letting her equally feel pain ):

[Beautiful Blue Kangaroo]

I Shall Grant You NoMercy

Eh, kinda.
I really don't see why everyone thinks woman are too "delicate" and "weak" to be punched by a man.
From personal experience, we can actually take a lot to the face.

I'm not trying to be a d**k, but the class went on, and the four women who were in the class of 30+ soldiers were the only soldiers got knocked out cold. (I didn't punch them, but there were two other instructors on the site, lol).

[The Gay Science]

It's definitely sexist. You're basically denying her training equal to what the male students were given and it's with the underlying implication that women are delicate and need to be coddled in a way that men don't.

[Beautiful Blue Kangaroo]

Lievearn

So if you were discriminating against her on the basis of her sex?

Yes, you refused to properly train a soldier because she was a woman.

That, and you discriminated against her by not letting her equally feel pain ):

I guess this is true, but you have to remember that the Infantry is separated from females for a reason. We aren't even trained around them, and our Drill Sergeants frequently instilled to us core values that would discourage us from any type of wrong doing towards women. I feel like if I had been trained around female soldiers, or even exposed to them that I might have felt differently. But this was a completely foreign idea to me at the time.

The Gay Science

You're basically denying her training equal to what the male students were given and it's with the underlying implication that women are delicate and need to be coddled in a way that men don't.

The problem with that is that I was in the Infantry and I was told that women were not equal, and that they aren't tough enough to do the things that we do. I am not saying I agree with it, but at that age, I had been led to believe that it was true as an every day part of my training and life.

When I went through the Martial Arts class to get certified as an Instructor one of the lines they used every single day to encourage soldiers who were scared of getting tasered, or beat with a stick was "You are going to do this so that some woman back home doesn't have to. Be a man."

[Avatar of Virtue]

This is the first time I've seen people legitimately say all this.

We might actually survive as a species.

[Lievearn]

Beautiful Blue Kangaroo

I guess this is true, but you have to remember that the Infantry is separated from females for a reason. We aren't even trained around them, and our Drill Sergeants frequently instilled to us core values that would discourage us from any type of wrong doing towards women. I feel like if I had been trained around female soldiers, or even exposed to them that I might have felt differently. But this was a completely foreign idea to me at the time.]

Congratulations, you've addressed why you made the mistake.
I am rather untrained in the ways of the army, but excuses for offenses are not taken in kind simply because, "Oh, sir, that's not how I was brought up/trained."

[Beautiful Blue Kangaroo]

Lievearn

Beautiful Blue Kangaroo

I guess this is true, but you have to remember that the Infantry is separated from females for a reason. We aren't even trained around them, and our Drill Sergeants frequently instilled to us core values that would discourage us from any type of wrong doing towards women. I feel like if I had been trained around female soldiers, or even exposed to them that I might have felt differently. But this was a completely foreign idea to me at the time.]

Congratulations, you've addressed why you made the mistake.
I am rather untrained in the ways of the army, but excuses for offenses are not taken in kind simply because, "Oh, sir, that's not how I was brought up/trained."

In retrospect I do think that if Infantry soldiers were exposed to female soldiers more often it would decrease a lot of the Equal Opportunity complaints that are filed. I've noticed with myself and other infantry soldiers that encountering a female soldier is so rare that we almost always address them as "ma'am" even when they aren't an officer.

[Love Muffin88]

I don't find it as sexist. I'd say in most American homes, little boys are raised with the mindset that you shouldn't harm a lady. And you took what was ingrained in you, to your work. Some call it being chauvanistic, others call it being a gentleman. I rather dislike when people get upset when someone does something that is typically seen as a basic gentleman thing to do.Though, when women go into "dangerous" jobs such as the military, being a fire fighter, a cop, they brace themselves for whatever situation they may come across. For a lack of better words, these ladies are tough. I'm not sayin, but I kinda am sayin, that they want to "prove" that they can take it like the best of them.

[Lievearn]

Beautiful Blue Kangaroo

Lievearn

Beautiful Blue Kangaroo

I guess this is true, but you have to remember that the Infantry is separated from females for a reason. We aren't even trained around them, and our Drill Sergeants frequently instilled to us core values that would discourage us from any type of wrong doing towards women. I feel like if I had been trained around female soldiers, or even exposed to them that I might have felt differently. But this was a completely foreign idea to me at the time.]

Congratulations, you've addressed why you made the mistake.
I am rather untrained in the ways of the army, but excuses for offenses are not taken in kind simply because, "Oh, sir, that's not how I was brought up/trained."

In retrospect I do think that if Infantry soldiers were exposed to female soldiers more often it would decrease a lot of the Equal Opportunity complaints that are filed. I've noticed with myself and other infantry soldiers that encountering a female soldier is so rare that we almost always address them as "ma'am" even when they aren't an officer.

I believe you would know the proper protocol to address such a problem, yes?

[The Gay Science]

Beautiful Blue Kangaroo

The Gay Science

You're basically denying her training equal to what the male students were given and it's with the underlying implication that women are delicate and need to be coddled in a way that men don't.

The problem with that is that I was in the Infantry and I was told that women were not equal, and that they aren't tough enough to do the things that we do. I am not saying I agree with it, but at that age, I had been led to believe that it was true as an every day part of my training and life.

When I went through the Martial Arts class to get certified as an Instructor one of the lines they used every single day to encourage soldiers who were scared of getting tasered, or beat with a stick was "You are going to do this so that some woman back home doesn't have to. Be a man."

All forms of bigotry are ingrained at some point or another. No one is inherently bigoted. It's learned from parents, teachers, mentors, other authority figures and just the general environment that one is a part of. If the question is whether this was a redeemable mistake, I think it was. You did this with good intentions and it wasn't from a place of hatred. It was hypocritical for your higher ups to train you the way they did and not expect the outcome. However, the question wasn't whether your decision was redeemable. You asked whether it was sexist and it definitely was. You should realize now that it was the wrong decision and you should realize that your training was steeped in sexist ideals. Why you made the mistake is somewhat understandable, but you should take it as an opportunity for growth.

[~Sweet_Darknesz~]

That looks like it would hurt a lot.
emotion_0A0

I think what you did was sexist. Though I don't think it was really that terrible/malicious, asumming you weren't really thinking "I refuse to train her as a proper soldier because she is a women and women are weak"?