Women in the military are not forced to sign up for the draft or fight on the front lines because of “female privilege.” So don’t talk to me about being powerful when your “rights” overpower your “responsibilities”.

If you haven’t heard already, the new Miss USA is Deshauna Barber, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve. As a contestant she was required to answer a question about women serving on the front lines in the US military. CNN highlighted her response when Barber said,

“As a woman in the United States Army, I think it was an amazing job by our government to allow women to integrate into every branch of the military… We are just as tough as men. As a commander of my unit, I’m powerful, I am dedicated and it is important that we recognize that gender does not limit us in the United States.”

What Barber doesn’t understand is how privileged she is without the responsibility of her male counterparts in two major respects. First, women in the military can “choose” to fight in front-line combat units. If women in the military want to wear the uniform, be a symbol of “girl power” and make the same pay as men without all the risk she has the privilege of doing so. However, she does not have the “responsibility” of having the same benefits but being forced into a dangerous combat occupation against her will or face 10 years in Fort Leavenworth. Again, privilege versus responsibility is lacking in this area.

Secondly, Ms. Barber has never been required to register for the draft because of her gender privilege. Her male counterparts for which she serves with was required by law to register for the draft and be forced into military conscription against their will in a time of national crisis. I bet you my last dollar Ms. Barber does not hold a draft registration card in her “cute little purse”!

So let’s get real for a moment. Yes, we should honor Ms. Barber’s service in the US Military. However, we should never honor a woman wearing our nation’s uniform over that of a male veteran whose life and decisions in the US military is completely out of his control unlike the women in his unit. I find Ms. Barber’s statements during the Miss America Pageant not only disturbing but downright sexist!

Although, thanks’ to the National Coalition for Men women may soon be forced to register for the draft due to pending federal litigation. Even so, it still doesn’t solve the first point I discussed where women have a choice to fight a combat units while their male counterparts have no choice because their lives do not matter.

Clearly, Ms. Barber and all the national media outlets who want to pat her on the back completely lost sight of her “privileged place in the US military” and her “lack of responsibility” she holds in comparison to her male counterparts. As we all know, CNN, ABC, CBS and Fox News never pointed out this inconvenient fact.