In September 2011, the United States lifted the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy (DADT), which restricted gay, lesbian, and bisexuals from openly serving in the military. This was the first time in American history in which people of every sexual orientation could serve openly (“11 Facts About,” n.d.). This was a momentous occasion for some and not so much for others. For those military members that had served in secret and those members that were firmly against gays and lesbians, this repeal had different meaning. Both groups contained members that have served in the military for years and were products of the Former President Bill Clinton’s 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. For many soldiers of this era, communication issues arose due to a pre-existing mentality, learned rules and regulations in services reinforced for two decades and the general cultural within combat related fields. Prior to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy the United States and its citizens were not very tolerant to openly gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals. Prior to World War II gays were not specifically targeted for exclusion from the military, although sodomy was considered a criminal offense as early as the Revolutionary War. However by the beginning of World War II, the military had shifted focus from excluding acts that were considered homosexual to focusing on members that were considered homosexual. In 1942, the military issued its first regulation that contained a paragraph defining the difference between a homosexual and a normal person. In fact, this regulation also described procedures for rejecting gay draftees. (Martinez, Hebl, & Law, 2012). The military based these procedures on medical rationale and psychiatric screening to... ... middle of paper ... ...veals. NBC News. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/10/13782623-no-negative-impacts-from-repeal-of-dont-ask-dont-tell-study-reveals?lite Martinez, L. R., Hebl, M. R., & Law, C. L. (2012). How Sexuality Information Impacts Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Gay Service Members. Military Psychology (Taylor & Francis Ltd), 24(5), 461-472. doi:10.1080/08995605.2012.716266 Moradi, B. (2009). Sexual orientation disclosure, concealment, harassment, and military cohesion: perceptions of LGBT military veterans... lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. Military Psychology (Taylor & Francis Ltd), 21(4), 513-533. Rich, C., Schutten, J., & Rogers, R. A. (2012). “Don't Drop the Soap”: Organizing Sexualities in the Repeal of the US Military's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” Policy. Communication Monographs, 79(3), 269-291. doi:10.1080/03637751.2012.697633
From the end of the draft in 1973 to the military data from 2003, the number of women in service rose from 2 percent to 12 percent. A sample of military women studied in 1991 showed 69 percent to have experienced sexual harassmen...
Frank, Nathaniel. Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America. New York: Thomas Dunne, 2009. Print.
In the essay “Why gays shouldn’t serve” by David Horowitz he states that “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell policy is a way of containing the destructive force of sex on a combat capability called Unit Cohesion. (354)” This controversial topic has surfaced more and more recently because Barack Obama wanted to let all people serve in the military, regardless of their sexual orientation. “More than 1,000 retired flag and general officers have joined us in signing an open letter to President Obama and Congress, repeal of this law would prompt many dedicated people to leave the military (James J. Lindsay).” There are multiple points you could focus on when trying to explain your point on why gays or lesbians should not serve in the military. The first point we will be focusing on is: how would military life change if straight men or women knew that there were gays or lesbians sleeping next to them? The second point is: would straight men and women communicate with the gays or lesbians the same way as they would toward other straight men or women? The third and final point is: how would other countries view our military if they knew we had gays or lesbians in the military?
In the past decades, the struggle for gay rights in the Unites States has taken many forms. Previously, homosexuality was viewed as immoral. Many people also viewed it as pathologic because the American Psychiatric Association classified it as a psychiatric disorder. As a result, many people remained in ‘the closet’ because they were afraid of losing their jobs or being discriminated against in the society. According to David Allyn, though most gays could pass in the heterosexual world, they tended to live in fear and lies because they could not look towards their families for support. At the same time, openly gay establishments were often shut down to keep openly gay people under close scrutiny (Allyn 146). But since the 1960s, people have dedicated themselves in fighting for
Whitlock, Craig, and Greg Jaffe. "Pentagon supports ending 'don't ask, don't tell' law for gays in military." Washington Post 3 February 2010, Print.
The War selected men and women from across the country with different backgrounds and placed them in sexually segregated camps. “The war severely disrupted traditional patterns of gender relations and sexuality, and temporarily created a new erotic situation conducive to homosexual expression” (D’Emilio pg. 106). At the time of capitalism and war, young men and women whose sexual identities had not been formed where placed in single sex training facilities where they would only interact with their own sex. This made the transition for most soldiers difficult and allowed for some already lesbian or gay individuals to interact and unify because of the confines of the war. The temporary freedom of sexuality allowed for men and women to challenge some of their heterosexual upbringings. In addition to gay identities resulting from the restrictions of war communities witnessed a large increase in bars and other meeting places for gays to meet and unify post World War
Throughout history openly practicing homosexuals have not been accepted in the United States Armed Forces. During the American Revolution and the Civil War, while no military code actually addressed homosexuals, anyone found committing homosexual acts was dishonorably discharged (Walke). With the turn of the century, the U.S. military actively began prohibiting and prosecuting homosexual acts (Walke). Throughout the 20th century, individuals seeking to serve in the military were prohibited from serving if they had a history of homosexual activity. With his election in 1994, President Bill Clinton sought to change this prohibition. However, once in office he met opposition from military leadership. As a result, a compromise between the Clinton administration, military officials and conservatives brought about the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy.
Congressman Murphy and Senator Gillibrand advocated their individual agendas and fought for what they believed in, reminding fellow members of Congress of the problem that was defined by Obama on the campaign trail. The interest groups that had supported President Obama helped him secure the LGBT vote in his victory, and demanded his follow-through in governing. And although many media organizations put out editorials endorsing a repeal of DADT, the objective journalism was more important in accurately reporting that President Obama was suddenly gun-shy about his campaign promise, leaving many bewildered. The statistic was that nearly 13,000 homosexual people were discharged from military service because of DADT, and media accounts turned that statistic into real stories of people and interest groups that wanted a change. By objectively focusing on the sheer impact of DADT and the story on the ground as the institutional leaders were putting it off, the media fought for the truth. The outside factors of interest groups and the media, along with the couple members of Congress serving as inside players, continued to shape the path of a possible DADT repeal in its stagnant period. These forces proved to be most important in these beginning stages of agenda setting and policy formulation, and were arguably successful in getting
...protest movements throughout America and the world.” Among the gay community Stonewall has become the word for freedom, for fighting, for equality. It became a turning point in Gay history, so much so that most books on the subject refer to “pre-Stonewall” and “post-Stonewall” as the lines of demarcation. Of course the journey is still long and fight has not been won. At the turn of the century there were still 20 states that made homosexual sex illegal , any only a few states would recognize the love and companionship of gays through marriage or civil unions. The military policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is still active and prejudices continue to exist. But, as exemplified by any other civil rights movement, it is through the constant grind of activists and lay-people constantly protesting and educating, that change occurs, even if only one person at a time.
Military Sexual Trauma (MST) is what Veterans using the VA Healthcare system refer to when discussing sexual harassment and sexual assault that takes place in military settings. “Much of the research literature with military veterans identifies the population of interest through the use of MST screening, for which a positive response can indicate a range of experiences, including rape, sexual Assault, experienced by the veteran during military service” (Street & Stafford, n.d.). Although most people focus the attention on women service members being the victims in a lot of the cases at VA clinics, “data indicates that 50% of survivors are actually men. For example, a 2011 review (Allard, Nunnink, Gregory, Klest, & Platt, 2011) of peer reviewed articles published up to December 2009 identified 74 articles focused on MST, but of those, only two articles focused on men only” (O’Brien, Keith, & Shoemaker, 2015). Sexual Trauma does not only occur during training or peacetime, the stress of war could be associated with rising rates of sexual assault and sexual harassment. “Research with Persian Gulf War military personnel conducted by Jessica Wolfe and colleagues found that rates of sexual assault (7%), physical sexual harassment (33%) and verbal sexual harassment (66%) were higher than those typically found in peacetime military samples” (Street & Stafford, n.d.). None the less, whether a service member is male or female or off to war vs training on US soil, the traumatic experience of falling victim to sexual assault forever change a person’s well-being. “Physical and sexual assault contribute to long-lasting physical and emotional suffering among men and women across the life span” (Bryan, McNaugton-Cassill, Osman, & Hernandez, 2013) therefor suicide rates are rising in sexual assault victims “because they adversely affect the victim’s sense of identity and self-worth, such that the victim begins to perceive him- or herself
In 2010, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen said, “I cannot escape being troubled in the fact that we have in place a policy that forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, personally, it comes down to integrity. Theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.” Admiral Mullen was speaking about our nations past policy on LGBT military service, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. President Bill Clinton coined this term when he signed the policy into law in 1993, telling service members “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue, and don’t harass.” This went into effect on October 1st, 1993. The “don’t ask” aspect of the policy was aimed to prevent harassment. The “don’t tell” aspect was designed so that if an individual were openly gay, they would be discharged from the military.
Homosexuality, for decades, was not accepted in the military, generally. However, during wartime periods, restrictions on gays seemed to be lightened. Then, during maritime, there would be strict enforcement on homosexuals. During maritime, homosexuals were constantly being filtered out and discharged by the military. In World War I, homosexuals that engaged in homosexual actions were disciplined and then discharged from the military. There wasn’t a specific policy against being a homosexual, but there were policies stating that homosexual actions were not allowed.
Chauncey explains how the government used systematic methods to weed out homosexuals that worked for the federal government. Chauncey states that in 1953 President Eisenhower banned homosexuals from government employment. Chauncey tells us that “the U.S State Department fired more homosexuals then communists.” Chauncey also tells us how thousands of men and women were forced to resign or were discharged from
...oldiers seek employment as police officers after their discharge. Due to this the military-police integration, it has the tolerance level toward gays and lesbians in law enforcement is similarly affected by how they are treated in the military. The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy is increasing in strength; homosexual police officers are starting to obtain more recognition. “An important achievement that New York’s GOAL tries to create is one of their most important objectives is to protect gay and lesbian officers from being mistreated in the workplace. “We can benefit from gay and lesbian police officers because they represent more than just a human rights effort, they also represent a range or roles and skills that can enhance the flexibility of police work without forgetting the real mission are to fight crime and protect the people. (Miller, Forest, Jurik) 2003.”
When one hears the words “LGBT” and “Homosexuality” it often conjures up a mental picture of people fighting for their rights, which were unjustly taken away or even the social emergence of gay culture in the world in the1980s and the discovery of AIDS. However, many people do not know that the history of LGBT people stretches as far back in humanity’s history, and continues in this day and age. Nevertheless, the LGBT community today faces much discrimination and adversity. Many think the problem lies within society itself, and often enough that may be the case. Society holds preconceptions and prejudice of the LGBT community, though not always due to actual hatred of the LGBT community, but rather through lack of knowledge and poor media portrayal.