‘G.I. Jane’ Draws Unfriendly Fire

I liked Jerry O’Brien’s hilarious Counterpunch piece (“Women in SEALs Training? Get Real,” Sept. 1) and I trust that you get all the superheated reaction you expect: strident assurance that a woman could do the training, equally strong support for O’Brien’s prehistoric sexism. But there’s something else that I believe should be noted about “G.I. Jane.”

If the depiction of the SEAL training program is anywhere near accurate (which--given the evocative lighting, sound effects, stirring martial scoring and so on of good solid movie-making--I grant is unlikely), the picture is the best advertisement for a taxpayer’s line-item veto. What could be more wasteful of our tax dollars than the excesses of that bully-boy summer camp as described?

SAMUEL W. GELFMAN

Los Angeles

I am an active member of the Army Reserve and have been for 19 years. In all my years in the military, in every training and real mission, I have witnessed female soldiers holding their own, reaching and surpassing the standards and, in general, performing in an outstanding manner.

For every “women getting breaks” story, I can double-counter with “good ol’ boys club giving the men breaks.” But that is not the purpose of my letter. Every soldier who serves this nation and wears the uniform deserves our support and gratitude.

U.S. soldiers win because they are thinkers, risk-takers and self-leaders. I have never seen a mission fail because there was not enough muscle power. I have seen missions fail because there was not enough brain power and resources.

THERESA FALLON

Los Angeles

Major, U.S. Army Reserve

Jerry O’Brien’s derogatory remark that women “can’t even complete Airborne without flitting their eyelashes to get out of hard duty” implies that all women are sexual manipulators who are unwilling to work hard for what they want.

If there are some women in training who use their femininity to that end, what does that say about the character of men who respond to this kind of manipulation by giving those women “their little breaks”? O’Brien fails to recognize that they are equally responsible for everything “falling down a few notches.”

Lastly, his questioning why “filmmakers can’t show something more plausible” is ridiculous. If filmmakers were bound by plausibility, the magic of movie-making would cease to exist. In the world of make-believe, if Arnold Schwarzenegger can give birth, then Demi Moore can become a SEAL.

DEVON RAYMOND

Santa Monica

What’s so disturbing about Jerry O’Brien’s vitriolic article is what underlies it. Before we can even begin to examine the issues of women in combat, we must first deal with the endemic misogyny in our culture that O’Brien so enthusiastically embraces in his article. Personally, the concept of O’Brien having access to producing movies is far more frightening to me than the concept of women having access to the SEALs.

Oh, and P.S.: O’Brien might be surprised to know that a lot of us have gotten to where we are without “flitting” nary an eyelash.

MELISSA ROSENBERG

Beverly Hills