Power has for long been associated with strength and resolve and the ability to make the right decisions in any given aspect, in one’s life. The men have, therefore, been seen as the most powerful people in the community by the stereotyping people in the community, but the trend is changing with a shift being witnessed in the community at large. The women are fast establishing themselves as powerful and strong creatures and not vulnerable as it has been cited in the past. There is increased empowerment of women in the world with more people challenging the authority to give more responsibility and opportunities to the women. There are activities and environments which have been dominated by the male due to the nature of activities involved which the women are pushing for a shift in mentality and perception and be given equal opportunity as their male counterparts. This paper uses two articles to articulate the topic of power and vulnerability in the world today. First there is The Naked Citadel by Susan Faludi, which looks into the objections and perceptions by members of the citadel against female members being brought into their citadel. The article further looks at the brutal male culture among the cadets and the differing opinions the cadets give for the resistance against female students in the citadel. The second article Selections from Hard to Get: Twenty-Something Women and the Paradox of Sexual freedom by Leslie Bell looks into the different aspects of sexual freedoms and whether the freedoms empower and strengthen the women or make them vulnerable and unsafe in the community. The two articles have opposing arguments as the first article strongly argues that power and vulnerability cannot exist, and this is the basis for the argument in this article. The second article, however, believes in power and vulnerability coexisting in the sexual life of women.

The women are seen as powerless and highly vulnerable when it comes to life in the citadel as the cadets who are mostly freshman cadets believe that the female students cannot cope with the high expectations and conditions of life as a cadet. The issues raised by the cadets although they are somewhat trivial in some of their aspects they are strongly based on some undeniable facts which the cadets strongly believe will disrupt their studies in the citadel. The fitness requirements for cadets was high on the priority list of why the female students should not be allowed in the Citadel as the cadets believe that the women cannot handle the high level of fitness. Another point raised was the shaving of hair that the cadets believed was a requirement in the citadel but this was quickly trivialized. The cadets also reiterated that the female students would disrupt the order of the Citadel as it would require more windows and doors in the citadel showers thereby restricting the usual order of the citadel. The points raised by the citadel seemed to be based on male chauvinism. The sentiments and opinions by the cadets were, however, supported by other members of the larger community in a case that was meant to allow female students join the citadel. In the case one of the defence attorney’s defending the Virginia Military Institute cited that the training schools should stay as the only male group so as to ensure the learning process of the members of the institutes is run efficiently. The defence attorney was of the opinion that the students should be allowed to train in an environment where they did not have to feel obligated to impress the female students and, therefore, only act as a distraction to the learning process. It is evident in that the defence attorney felt that the female students would not be in any way be involved in the learning process as well as their male counterparts and saw them only as distractions in the training of the male students.

There are, however, members of the community who felt this as an out-dated trend and cited that many women are now in high ranks, in the military and the Air force in the military and since these were just training institutions they should allow female students in their training camps. It is, however, important to note that there are a lot of freshmen cadets who have gone through a lot in the citadel as there is a lot of violence in these training institutions. The article cites that star freshman athletes are the main targets for most of these attacks in the citadel that makes the female students vulnerable and highly exposed at the citadel. This article highly discourages the female students and in its argument it is clearly apparent that power and vulnerability cannot coexist.

Power and vulnerability can also co-exist, and this has been strongly supported by the writer of the second article on women sexuality. The writer uses two women a bad girl and a good girl to illustrate how there is a difference in the perception of power according to a woman’s behaviour and sexuality. On one hand there is a bad girl who has had multiple sexual partners in her life a behaviour that started as a way to go against her Indian parents who wanted to marry her off the traditional Indian way. The writer looks at the different perspectives of viewing how her life has been affected by her sexual behaviour. Being a psychologist, the writer looks at the different psychological aspects of the problems and the achievements the lady feels to have gained in her life. There is the perspective that the ;lady was empowered with the bad girl attitude and was able to go against her parents while, on the other hand, the loss of self-esteem and dangers that the lady faced in her bad behaviour was evident. The lady faced a lot of problems and was guilty of her behaviour and at times she switched from bad girl to good girl. The paper also looks at Alicia a very good girl who was conscious of her sexual behaviour in the twenties that was the age when the ladies get to go with a lot of different as cited by the writer. The writer asserts that many women who act responsibly and are vulnerable to the outside world end up living many fulfilled lives in their later lives. The articles look at women in their twenties, and their dreams and aspirations in their careers and as such are not willing to get into serious relationships with men but only wish to satisfy their desire. It is in this context that the writer views women as powerful beings and is of the view that women in their twenties should not feel guilty but should fulfil their desires and aspirations while keeping in mind their decency and self-esteem. If a lady in their twenties wishes to be powerful in their most vulnerable situations the writer advices that they should be feminine but not passive, be sexually adventurous and not alienate men with their sexual prowess and also be assertive and not aggressive while at the same time being honest and not exposing too much information about personal relationship and aspects. The pressures from their friends, parents and the dream of advancing in future become too much in a person’s life that end up making them vulnerable. Parents are known to pressure their children on the best relationships and also the best careers and high expectations that negatively affects a lady’s sexual life. The women should, however, be strong and powerful and go for their desires as this only makes one more fulfilled and driven to achieve their goals. The article is highly supportive of the coexistence of power and vulnerability.

In conclusion, this paper has looked at two different aspects and forms of power in the society today. In the first article, it was about physical strength while the second is fulfilment and satisfaction. It is evident that vulnerability and power can coexist since the physical attributes highlighted in the first article does not apply to all male students neither should it discriminate against able female students. Although there is tough training, there is a group of male students who may not be able to sustain the pressure and female students who can do well in the institution. The violence in the institutions is not a requirement, and it’s a sign of indiscipline and should not be used as a sign of discouragement against willing female students.

Need assistance with this?

CLICK BUTTON TO ORDER NOW