From the Vietnam War through the Global War on Terror, an 18-year-old woman watching her male peers register for Selective Service would simultaneously be told she couldn’t serve in infantry, armor, or special operations. She was considered unsuitable for registering because she was unsuited for combat, yet she had no right to choose to serve in those roles if she wanted to. This position—excluded from registration on the basis of a combat ban you didn't support—was the "lousy deal" that defined an entire era. But as the 21st century progressed, that deal was systematically dismantled, with the final barriers falling in the mid-2010s, leaving the U.S. government and military to grapple with a new reality of equality.
At its core, Female War: A Lousy Deal is a tragedy driven by an impossible choice. The film centers on a young, loving couple: Ha-rim (played by ), a talented painter whose life is turned upside down after a devastating accident leaves him completely blind. His devoted wife, Sun-yeong (played by Kim Sun-young ), is shattered by the accident but immediately shifts into a desperate mission to save her husband’s eyesight.
As men are conscripted or lost to casualties, the immense psychological and physical burden of keeping families intact, feeding younger siblings, and managing broken households falls heavily on young, inexperienced shoulders.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the US Court of Federal Claims, alleges that the US Army discriminated against female veterans by denying them benefits and recognition. The plaintiffs, who include several female veterans who served in combat roles, are seeking damages and a court order requiring the US Army to provide them with the benefits and recognition they deserve.
The "lousy deal" for women was not just a cultural perception; it was codified in federal law and validated by the highest court in the land. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter, reacting to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, reinstated draft registration. Carter also recommended that Congress amend the law to require women to register as well. Congress, however, rejected this proposal, citing the Pentagon’s long-standing policy that excluded women from direct combat roles. At the time, the rationale was simple: the primary purpose of the draft is to fill combat positions, so if women cannot serve in those positions, they should not be forced to register. 18 female war lousy deal fixed
The "Female War" title implies a battleground for women in a patriarchal society, where their bodies are often treated as commodities.
More recently, in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, 18-year-old female medics abandoned by retreating units fixed the deal by holding field hospitals alone, negotiating ceasefires with enemy soldiers to evacuate the wounded. Not with rank or orders—with sheer audacity.
And that is the real fix: not winning a battle, but making the next lousy deal slightly less lousy for the woman who follows.
This phrase captures a growing sentiment among young women, legal scholars, and policymakers alike. For an 18-year-old woman today, the current state of conscription laws, military readiness, and gender equity feels like a raw deal. But how did we get here, why is it fundamentally flawed, and how can we fix it? The Core of the "Lousy Deal" From the Vietnam War through the Global War
Throughout history and across modern geopolitical landscapes, the intersection of young adulthood, gender, and armed conflict has consistently yielded systemic injustices—"lousy deals"—that society is only beginning to acknowledge, let alone fix. The "18 Female" Reality in Modern Conflict
To prevent similar situations from arising in the future, several steps can be taken:
The proposal passed the House of Representatives as the Nurse Selective Service Bill of 1945. However, the bill sparked a much broader conversation. If the government could conscript professional nurses, why shouldn't it draft young, unmarried civilian women for general non-combat service? The Argument for Conscripting 18-Year-Old Women
For too long, 18-year-old women have been handed a lousy deal: sacrifice without a voice. We are told war is inevitable, but we know it’s a policy choice. It’s time to fix the deal. Demand representation in peace talks. Redirect funding from weaponry to education. But as the 21st century progressed, that deal
The traditional divide—where men fight and women wait—has completely eroded. From the Kurdish women’s defense units (YPJ) to modern territorial defense forces globally, 18-year-old females are volunteering for active service, drone piloting, cyber-defense, and combat logistics. By entering the defensive infrastructure on their own terms, they dismantle the vulnerability narrative and secure an undeniable stake in the post-war societal order. 3. Guerrilla Education and Economic Micro-Systems
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In recent years, there has been a growing movement to provide recognition and benefits to female veterans. This includes:
In online forums like 4chan's /b/ board , similar strings of words are sometimes used as "tripcodes" or specific memes related to gender and conflict, but these are highly niche and often ephemeral.