Hi, Kansas, actually the military gave me much more power and responsibility, and expected much more of me physically, than most civilian employers ever would have.  In general (yes, there are always exceptions), you are treated as fully competent until you prove otherwise, and they are only too happy to give you all the responsibility you can handle.  I also got exactly the same pay and exactly the same promotion opportunities as my male counterparts.   I don’t think my views originated with the military; if anything, civilian employers could learn a thing or two from them.  My views have originated from decades of observation.

Small weak men and large strong women aside, MOST men are bigger, stronger, and faster than most women.  Biological fact.  This will always affect our opportunities; preaching equal opportunity is great until you get a 4’11", 95-pound fireman coming up the ladder to carry an unconscious adult down four stories to safety.  However passionately that small woman wants to be a fireman, and however physically fit she is, she is not going to get that job.  Maybe some other fire department job. A very small man won’t get that job either, but many more women are affected by this type of physical requirement.

On sexual attraction and rape:  with very few exceptions, men don’t get forcibly raped.  Seduced, yes, but he MUST be aroused for sex to occur, even unwillingly.  A woman need not be aroused or even conscious to have sex, whether consensual or not, nor to get pregnant.  A woman can pursue a man, but it is entirely up to him whether anything comes of it.  A man can pursue a woman, and being rejected, he can force his way whether she likes it or not.  That’s just the physical situation.  I am not talking about morals or laws or what anyone likes, just what’s biologically possible and what’s not.  I can not slip my husband a mickey and date-rape him.  He, however, can do so to me.  And women ARE attracted to powerful men.  Bill Clinton.  David Letterman.  Any 60-year-old rock star.  Etc. Personally, I don’t find those guys very attractive, but others obviously do.

On pregnancy and child-rearing: until men get pregnant and lactate, women will always be the ones who miss work for reproductive reasons, and that can and does impact one’s career.  Men can CHOOSE to miss work to attend the birth and bond with the baby, but their bodies don’t force them to.  Women have NO choice on that.  In cases of unintended pregnancy, it is the woman who is ditched with the baby, not the man.  It is incumbent on the woman to file a paternity suit.  It is an unfair burden and will always be so.  

On the military and  "patriarchy":  A lot changed during my career.  My male counterparts early in my career assumed women would not be put into combat situations.  I was in combat within two years of getting commissioned.  There was no way to pull women out of their units for "safety" and still function, and there were no assets for evacuation, anyway.  We just went and did our jobs.  A year later, I was in combat again; this time there was still a lot of press commentary (they seem surprised every time), but the military men took it as a matter of course.  Now - in Iraq and Afghanistan - women are doing more than ever, going on patrols, conducting searches, kicking in doors when necessary.  Initially there was worry that the women would be hindered by the Middle Eastern culture; far from it, we found that the women are ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for dealing with 50% of the local population… the local women, who should not have interactions with men outside their families. 

Not only have I looked at these issues closely, I have lived them.  I don’t intend to discourage young women.  I got the jobs I wanted.  My pay was exactly equal to my male peers.  I married the guy I wanted, and we are still married.  But all the foregoing is still true.

Having known and seen "the military" well, I have to agree. I’d have been kicked out! Lila had to do something to survive.

If women want to feel, watch some of the movies from the early 70s, and think and watch (i.e: Up the Sandbox - 1972). Reality will hit you in the face if you’re "real."