I'm not your typical intellectual elite basher (I have multiple degrees from some of the nation's best universities), but I do detect some elitism here on the part of those folks at Princeton. It seems to be a case of "if it's not of interest to us and our friends, it's not worth paying any attention to." A big part of a "liberal arts" education
should be thinking outside of one's comfort zone, and looking at the world through a different lens than what one is used to.
Then again, maybe it's because reenacting
does interest me, but I found Jenny's book a very insightful and very accurate portrayal of many aspects of the hobby. WW2 reenacting has changed in some ways since she finished her research, but in many other ways it's still the same. If nothing else, War Games is interesting from a psychological point of view because of what it says about hobbies and the subcultures in general.
As for the second question, whether WW2 reenacting is right for you as a woman really depends on what you want to do. If you want to participate in combat, there are a number of Soviet units that have female combattants. If you prefer a non-combat role, you could do nurse or administrative personnel for the American or German forces (those are the ones I'm aware of). Check out At the Front's website (
http://www.atthefront.com) or Marsh's Reenactor.net website (
http://www.reenactor.net) for links to units that do many different impressions. Find a period of history that interests you first, then find a unit you feel like you fit in with. Then just have fun.