Female Recruits Taught to Put Up with Sexual Harassment (Goes to Marine Corps Times, more at the link):
As a Marine recruit at Parris Island, Erika Butner learned from her drill instructors that her supposed brothers in arms would treat her as one of three stereotypes: âA bitch; youâre a whore or youâre a lesbian,â she told lawmakers on Wednesday.
âIâm not blaming the drill instructors,â she said at a Democratic Womenâs Working Group hearing. âThey were preparing us to have thick skin because it is so ingrained in this culture that they donât know how to change it, so they go with the grain.â
Wednesdayâs hearing focused on allegations that male service members and veterans have posted nude pictures of female troops, veterans and civilians on the âMarines Unitedâ Facebook page and other websites. Moreover, some members have allegedly threatened to kill and rape women who are clearly identified in those pictures, lawmakers said.
Butner testified along with Lance Cpl. Marisa Woytek, both of whom have been harassed online. During Butnerâs time in the Corps, pictures of her fully clothed were stolen from her social media accounts and shared on websites with captions such as, âSmash or pass?â which meant âwould you have sex with this woman or not?â she said.
Later, her pictures and contact information were shared on the Marines United page along with lurid descriptions of âall the unspeakable things theyâd do to me,â she said.
The culture of misogyny toward women that begets this type of behavior traces back to boot camp, where women learn to put up with sexual harassment form male Marines, Butner said on Wednesday.
âWeâre taught to go with the flow and accept the culture as is, or else we face repercussions,â she said.
When asked about Butnerâs testimony, a Marine Corps spokesman said that any such conduct by drill instructors would not be acceptable.
âBottom line: Any Marine that would express the type of attitude expressed in that statement is dead wrong,â said Maj. Clark Carpenter. âEvery Marine is critical to our mission and any behavior meant to demean or degrade a fellow Marine is not tolerated.â
But Butnerâs comments are not the first time this issue has arisen. In 2012, a Marine veteran told Stars and Stripes that she had a similar experience at boot camp, where she and other female recruits were told to decide whether they were a âslut, a dyke or a bitch.â
âYou are told that pretty much any contact with male Marines makes you a slut,â Katie Appeldorn told the newspaper. âIt is automatically assumed she is sleeping around. Dyke isnât necessarily a lesbian, but she is thought to be. Bitch is what you are told to be. It basically means you donât give the men around you an inch.â
No Marine Corps leaders attended Wednesdayâs hearing. Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller testified at a separate hearing Wednesday morning about how another temporary spending measure could hurt readiness.
Assistant Commandant Glenn Walters initially told Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., that he would attend, but he was later advised against it because it was technically a caucus meeting and not a formal committee hearing, Marine Corps Times has learned.
Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., contended that Wednesdayâs event was indeed a hearing and she regretted that Marine Corps leaders did not attend.
âWe would have loved them to be here with us and Iâm sorry they declined,â said Frankel. âHopefully, weâll have some follow-up with them.â
All of the lawmakers at Wednesdayâs hearing were Democrats except one: Rep. Walter Jones Jr., a Republican whose North Carolina congressional district includes Camp Lejeune.
âWhat would be the best thing I could do to help your pain?â Jones asked Butner and Woytek.
âI think it would be to start holding people accountable,â Butner replied. âI think they need to start making examples out of people who are condoning this behavior. I think that would help the victims to come forward.â