stylistic:tone
Military

Conscription, or compulsory military service, has been criticized as sexist. During the Modern era, prior to the late 20th century, mostly men were subjected to conscription,although there were several instances of conscription of women in Antiquity and the Middle Ages Today most countries still require only men to serve in the military.

In his book The Second Sexism: Discrimination Against Men and Boys (2012), philosopher David Benatar states that "he prevailing assumption is that where conscription is necessary, it is only men who should be conscripted and, similarly, that only males should be forced into combat". This, he believes, "is a sexist assumption". Anthropologist Ayse Gül Altinay has commented that "given equal suffrage rights, there is no other citizenship practice that differentiates as radically between men and women as compulsory male conscription".

Only nine countries conscript women into their armed forces: China, Eritrea, Israel, Libya, Malaysia, North Korea, Norway, Peru, and Taiwan. Other countries—such as Finland, Turkey, and Singapore —still use a system of conscription which requires military service from men only, although women may serve voluntarily. In 2014, Norway became the first NATO country to introduce obligatory military service for women as an act of gender equality and in 2015, the Dutch government started preparing a gender-neutral draft law. The gender selective draft has been challenged in the United States.

Conditions in the military have been described as "sexually abusive" and the "sexual persecution" of women. Relentless sexist ridicule, hostility, and sexual harassment has been frequently reported. Women in the military are more likely to be raped by a male fellow soldier than killed by the enemy. Prosecution of the reported crimes fails to move forward, as the Pentagon claimed it would undermine the leadership of the commanders.