One of the more bizarre arguments against accepting women in combat is that men may have to poop near, beside, or in the general vicinity of them.Marine Ryan Smith in The Wall Street Journal:
Societal norms are a reality, and their maintenance is important to most members of a society. It is humiliating enough to relieve yourself in front of your male comrades; one can only imagine the humiliation of being forced to relieve yourself in front of the opposite sex.
Not only is it distracting to soldiers, but “traumatizing… particularly when your body has been ravaged by lack of hygiene.” When it comes to pooping, women apparently can’t turn their head away. Smith isn’t the only one pushing the Post Traumatic Poop Disorder theory of co-ed killing. Lots of column inches have been devoted to pointing out how horrible it will be for men for their bowel movements and their “unit cohesion” to serve with women. While this is a completely made up problem, they don’t seem as concerned about a very real issue women face while serving in the military with men: the increased likelihood that they will be raped or assaulted and that the culture of the military will pressure her into silence.