General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "Why Are Terrorists So Often Young Men?" [View all]Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)I suppose that as far as true believers are concerned that could be women as well. Youth by its nature is more willing to set aside all critical faculties and devote itself to the righteous cause - political, religious - whether it is a productive cause or a harmful cause. But Combatants whether recognized soldiers of a recognized state or illegal non-state combatants adds the masculine appeal that would be more inviting to men than to women - as a generalization. A great deal of the world - not only the Islamic world - but throughout the third world and to some extent in the western world - there does exist a romanticized notion of the guerrilla freedom fighter - the tough. street-wise fighter for the oppressed - operating outside the legal system. On the emotional plain I suppose it has an emotional and macho appeal to those who accept that romanticized image that is not all that different than the appeal of being one of "the few, the proud, the Marine."