Should she glow?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

There's no room in Tolkien's world - call him "misogynist" if you like - for Warrior She-Elves (largely a very, very recent staple of RPGs, movies, comic books etc, plus ancient legend where, again, they were exceptional (Hippolyta, Atalanta) or divine (Athena, the Valkyries). Eowyn is a Thang precisely because she is completely unique and unexpected; as for female Elves, Tolkien merely says that "at need" they would fight to defend their children and homes.

I don't recall that note about female Elves fighting, though a similar observation was made in UT about the Wainriders who had taken over the homes of the Northmen.

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

But the notion that a female would have been Captain of the Guard, or for that matter a member of the Guard or of any regular military body - was alien to Tolkien's imagination (and real-world experience).

(It's to be noted that in the real world right down to the present day, females were not found in ground-combat arms of the world's militaries until the last few years).

Not to turn this into any sort of socio-political debate, but the lack of female combat involvement in Tolkien's time and into recent years stemmed from a physical source, in addition to any sense of culture or tradition.
Having served some time in the military, I can speak to the fact that being a soldier is physically demanding. It requires not only a level of cardiovascular fitness (at which women actually can and do better men many times), but also a high degree of strength, especially upper body. Though today's weapons are much lighter in weight than in the past, it still needs physical power to carry and shoot combat arms such as shotguns, rifles, and machine guns. In earlier eras the strength required was much greater: wielding longswords and winding crossbows was many times limited even among men to the strongest. The idea of a slender Elf-woman having a position in Tolkien's Middle-earth that required melee fighting as an occupation is utter rubbish.

[Galin]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

I don't recall that note about female Elves fighting, though a similar observation was made in UT about the Wainriders who had taken over the homes of the Northmen.

The description comes from Laws And Customs Among The Eldar [Moroth's Ring]. When speaking generally about Elvish customs, the author notes that they could vary according to time, place, or Elvish clan, but then the text goes into a specific for instance...

'There are indeed some differences between the natural inclinations of neri and nissi, and other differences that have been established by custom (varying in place and in time, and in the several races of the Eldar). For instance, the arts of healing, and all that touches on the care of the body, are among all the Eldar most practised by the nissi; whereas it was the elven-men who bore arms at need.'

... and when the essay gets specific about fighting and healing, the nissi [Elven women]...

'Indeed in dire straits or desperate defence, the nissi fought valiantly, and there was less difference in strength and speed between elven-men and elven-women that had not borne child than is seen among mortals.'

... and exceptions with respect to Elven-men and hearling are noted...

'On the other hand many elven-men were great healers and skilled in the lore of living bodies, though such men abstained from hunting, and went not to war until the last need.'

So it appears to remain that Elven-women fought under the already described scenario, and not outside it [again, even though in a more general context, customs could vary for certain reasons] -- within which scenario [in my opinion] might fall Idril arming herself [if this was to remain a detail in any updated Fall of Gondolin, that is], and possibly Galadriel's heroic defense of the Teleri [if in fact this was part of Galadriel's 'true' history].

Some ifs there.

[alatar]

The question might be, "Did she glow?"

Watching the scene again, clearly Tauriel glows. Interlaced with her glowing is Kili looking at her while in a manic/delirious state. After all of the glowage, one of the dwarves remarked that they'd just witnessed some remarkable Elven healing, but this statement does not indicate that the elf glowed.

Absent from the scene where shots of the other people in the room, staring at Tauriel while she healed Kili.

Methinks that the glow way in the eye of the beholder, love sick dwarf that he was.