Two of my daughters are shooters. And both can accurately shoot anything I can shoot. You name it, they’ll shoot them just as good, if not better, than most dudes.
My eldest dated a man whose father was the handgun instructor for Miami PD. One of their first dates was at a range. Him and his dad gave her the princess treatment. Then she took her turn at the line. Left both their jaws on the ground.
That’s the thing about being armed — A 120lb female doesn’t stand a chance against a 200+ lb dude. No matter what Hollywood would have us believe. But a 120lb female with a 1911 is a whole different ball game.
There are times when men and women are, well, men and women. I don't mean simply during childbirth or in the lavatory.
Candidly, if some/many women are women when it comes to shooting, then we should be ENCOURAGING this "segregation." Shooting a firearm isn't like playing Monopoly. This is something to be treated with respect and, dare I say, reverence. If some women can handle .357 rounds that's great - if others can't, then we shouldn't force them out of say a .38 special if that's what works for them.
If women feel more comfortable doing yoga without guys around, then let them do yoga without guys. But let's not chastise women who do coed yoga. Similarly, if a woman CAN handle a .357, then let's not talk them down because "it's too much for a girl."
And yes...the firearm is the great equalizer. As stated so perfectly years ago:
Fortunately, there is a weapon for preserving life and liberty that can be wielded effectively by almost anyone -- the handgun. Small and light enough to be carried habitually, lethal, but unlike the knife or sword, not demanding great skill or strength, it truly is the "great equalizer." Requiring only hand-eye coordination and a modicum of ability to remain cool under pressure, it can be used effectively by the old and the weak against the young and the strong, by the one against the many.
The handgun is the only weapon that would give a lone female jogger a chance of prevailing against a gang of thugs intent on rape, a teacher a chance of protecting children at recess from a madman intent on massacring them, a family of tourists waiting at a mid-town subway station the means to protect themselves from a gang of teens armed with razors and knives.