The things they carried: women in Vietnam In the book The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, the gender stereotypes of the women who fought in the Vietnam War are represented through some of the stories. One short story in particular is "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" which describes a woman who participated in the Vietnam War and went beyond some of the gender roles she had been assigned. In this war women had certain roles to play, many of which were non-traditional. This article will discuss the concept of cultural studies in Vietnam War literature. Women in the Vietnam War had numerous roles to play both physically and mentally. For example in the story "The Treasure of