Women are too soft and fragile to be police officers. With their hair and makeup they certainly can't fight in military combat. Nothing showed those sentiments to be more unfounded than the iconic picture of the chaos that erupted after the detonation of two bombs at the Boston Marathon, where it is a female officer with gun drawn already in mid-sprint who embodies everything a police officer should be.

Just seconds after explosives ripped through that Sunday, without knowing if there would be more bombs and more killing, police scrambled through crowds to face this unknown threat and to safeguard their people, the people of Boston. Every cop did his and her badge proud that day, and they did so regardless of gender.

Arguments against women serving in dangerous situations always involve questions of toughness and of instincts, the female officer in the above picture exemplified both, and exhibited an unparalleled courage in response to an unknown and deadly enemy.

But history and innumerable examples of women proving they can be cops and soldiers has not seemed to have done much. It was just this January that the US Armed Forces finally began to allow women to serve in combat (though they have been for years unofficially) and police forces, most notably the Royal Canadian Mounted Police still face many complaints of bullying female members.

And it is unlikely that this picture of a courageous female police officer in action will do much to change still stagnant social attitudes. But considering an unknown enemy didn't even make this woman cop so much as hesitate, certainly a known enemy for all women like sexual discrimination will eventually be shown to have never stood a chance.