Gendered Innovations in Orthopaedic Science: Equal But Different

Excerpt

I am tough. I made it through internship. I made it through residency. I survived toddlers and teenagers. But I am not Ranger tough. When two remarkable women were lauded for the receiving their US Army Ranger tabs last fall [9], it gave me pause. I quivered at the starting point for Ranger school: 49 push-ups, 59 sit-ups, 5-mile run in under 40 minutes, and six chin-ups. In fact, the likelihood of graduating Ranger school is low unless one far exceeds even those standards [11], and fitness tests are only the beginning. Army Rangers also undergo weeks of endurance operations under conditions of privation, testing their stamina. Most notably, these two women achieved their status meeting sex-agnostic criteria. They proved themselves as tough as the guys. …