Women Shaming Men Into War

This pamphlet shamed young men of England into signing up to fight in WW I. A war that was unnecessary.

Most young men get pressured this way. War is a tribal initiation, a rite of passage for young men. Throughout history young men have been required to take this passage. It had nothing to do with freedom.

Russians fought for Stalin. Germans fought for Hitler. Chinese men fought for Mao. Young Aztec and Zulu warriors fought, but it was not for freedom. The Japanese fought for their emperor, not for freedom.

American males in the early colonies fought long before the Declaration of Independence. American males fought before they all had the right to vote. Early American voting restrictions prohibited males from voting who did not own land.

If America had never become a Republic and instead had become a totalitarian government, American males would have still fought for their country.

It's all a test. The young men must prove themselves. If they are cowards, they will not get to mate. The tribe needs brave warriors.

Today's American military has career personnel. They have passed their youthful naivete, but now they are looking for a retirement check. A military person today can serve 20 years and retire at the age of 38 and collect a pension for 40 years, twice as long as he/she served.

Charles Tolleson

http://www.warandgender.com/wgwomwwi.htm Women shaming men into war

Women are often active participants in shaming men to try to goad them into fighting wars. Recall the Russian women in World War I who went "over the top" to try to shame exhausted Russian soldiers into fighting again (see pp. 73-75). In Britain and America during that war, women organized a large-scale campaign to hand out white feathers to able-bodied men found on the streets, to shame the men for failing to serve in combat. Not all women supported it: "Dealer in white feathers / . Can't you see it isn't decent, / To flout and goad men into doing, / What isn't asked of you?" However, the Women of England's Active Service League pledged never to be seen in public with an able-bodied man not serving in the military, and British recruiting posters told young men their women would reject them if they were "not in khaki" and meanwhile told the young women that men who refused to fight and die for them were not worthy of their affections. (The white feather campaign was briefly resurrected in World War II, and the British government had to issue badges for men exempt on medical grounds.) Some scholars object to blaming women for goading men into World War I. They argue that the poster claiming "Women of Britain Say, 'Go!'" (see Figure 5.3) was propaganda devised by men to affect other men. "[M]any women tried to get their sons out of the army. Others were agitating to prevent conscription."58 http://www.warandgender.com/wgwomwwi.htm