Is it my imagination or in the wake of Abu Ghraib are women in the military starting to be singled out for 'bad behavior'? Female soldier demoted for mud wrestling. Apparently it was a party that had absolutely nothing to do with the prisoners. One of the women who participated was demoted for "indecent exposure" while 4 or 5 "spectators" (presumably men) were only sent to counseling. But the one woman was not only singled out and personally identified in the press, it also looks like they published photos of her.
Yes, horrifically bad taste to put on a mud wrestling show even amongst the soldiers themselves while deployed in a war zone. Stupid to particpate, obviously. And I could probably go off for quite awhile about how the military continues to act like female members are there for the sexual gratification of their male comrades (citing rape statistics & all).
But - how many male soldiers are caught with their 'pants down' and/or drunk off their asses doing stupid shit around military bases all over the world? They may receive disciplinary action, too - but you sure as hell don't see their names and faces plastered all over the national news.
Is the press so terribly stupid they just hear "photos + partying + detention center in Iraq" and think they've stumbled onto something as controversial as Abu Ghraib again? I'm sorry but unless I'm missing something - these two situations aren't even in the same realm of outrageousness. Anyone who tries to draw such an equivalence is really belittling the seriousness of the Abu Ghraib offenses. Tasteless does NOT = Torture.
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