A conservative columnist has suggested that female soldiers in the United States are prone to "erratic" behavior and may even make up sexual assault incidents in exchange for cash or attention.
John Derbyshire's column, published in Taki's Magazine, is formatted as a list intended to "apprise the US military of some true facts" about military sexual assaults. While the most recent Pentagon survey found that there are more than 70 sexual assaults involving military personnel every day, Derbyshire contends the issue has been blown out of proportion.
The controversial British-born conservative, who was fired from the prominent National Review magazine last April after writing a piece widely criticized as racist, begins his newest column by proposing that men and women learn better in a segregated environment.
Women, Derbyshire continues, are "strongly attracted to higher-status men," and military units in which men command women place human nature "under severe strain." The columnist also notes that men have innate urges "to break things and kill people," while women are "outliers" who are "eccentric:"
As a designated victim group, they are especially susceptible to the associated pathologies, e.g., victim hoaxes for attention, spite, or cash reward.
Raw Story notes that Derbyshire's column comes at a tense time for those working to address the issue of military sexual assault. While some lawmakers believe more civilian oversight is needed, much of the top military brass has openly dismissed such a proposal.
In an effort to add their own two cents, many politicians and pundits like Derbyshire have attempted to add their own analysis of the problem. These varying theories have placed blame for the rise in assaults on everyone from women in combat units, to openly gay soldiers, to hormones run amok, to porn, The Week reports.
View this video to see John Derbyshire explaining the case against female suffrage.