Conscription as manhood initiation

Traditionally conscription has been limited to the male population, as males have been warriors. Women and handicapped males have been exempted from conscription. Many societies have traditionally considered military service as a test of manhood and a rite of passage from boyhood into manhood.68 69

References:

68 ^ Ben Shephard (2003), A War of Nerves: Soldiers and Psychiatrists in the Twentieth Century, Harvard University Press, p. 18, ISBN 9780674011199,

69 ^ Carol R. Ember; Melvin Ember (2003), Encyclopedia of sex and gender: men and women in the world's cultures, Volume 2, Springer, pp. 108-109, ISBN 9780306477706.