In Response to Matt's Blog 7

I totally did not see this connection and I absolutely love it. You are right that there are many parallels between Petra Herrera and Mulan. I think the coolest part about these stories is that the women were allowed to fight once they had revealed themselves to be women. I find it interesting though, that with these women (and as you said they were definitely not alone) proving themselves on the battlefield, why the gender bias still remained. For instance, In the song "I'll make a man out of you" from Mulan one of the lines sung by the male leader asks "did you send me daughters, when I asked for sons?" I think this is very profound because the armies did not even invite women to join the army. This manner of thinking was very common. I personally do not understand why the army generals would not at least invite women to try to join the army. It would increase their recruitment rates and the women would still have to prove herself. As seen by Petra and Mulan, women had the ability to make a very positive contribution to the cause. I commend the Mexican revolutionary leaders who did not follow the stereotypical recruiting pattern of the time and allowed women to take up arms.