No, Gay Soldiers Won't Be Allowed to Cross-dress While on Duty

[Shana A]

No, Gay Soldiers Won't Be Allowed to Cross-dress While on Duty

Brandon Friedman
Author, Vice Chairman of VoteVets.org
Posted March 18, 2009 | 12:14 PM (EST)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brandon-friedman/no-gay-soldiers-wont-be-a_b_176359.html

This is Dan.

As you can see from the photo, Dan is a combat veteran of Iraq. Dan is not only an infantry officer, but he also has a degree in Arabic -- something very important if you're going to be in a place like Iraq. Dan earned his degree in Arabic -- and his commission -- from a very good school in upstate New York known for providing America with some of its best leaders. The school he attended is commonly known as "West Point."

Now, notice that Dan is not wearing a dress. He's wearing the Army's standard ACU. Also, notice that Dan is not wearing makeup, eyeliner, or dangly earrings. He's just wearing the normal Kevlar helmet and protective eyewear that you typically see infantrymen wear in Iraq. Observe that Dan also looks as though he's barking orders, something infantry officers sometimes have to do in dangerous situations. What he's not doing, however, is hitting on the other male soldiers in his unit. And he's not spying on his fellow male soldiers in the shower.

[Genevieve Swann]

What if he's not gay? Most crossdressers consider themselves heterosexual. Of course he can't crossdress on duty. He would be out of regulation uniform. I had a cheif when I was in the Navy who showed up one day in his Star Trek uniform. I told the Warrant Officer about it and the cheif was serverly reprimanded. What a G.I. does on their off time is nobodies business unless it is illegal. They can control what happens on a military installation but off base is none of their business. Crossdressing is not illegal so NCIS,CID and AFOSI can got to haddies.

[Dennis]

I'm amazed that policy is still in place. Why doesn't it occur to people that other countries' militaries have had openly gay members for decades and none of those problems has arisen.

Queerbashing is a big problem in the US military and DADT contributes to it by sending a message that gays aren't really welcome, just tolerated.

Dennis

[Hazumu]

I'm amazed that policy is still in place. Why doesn't it occur to people that other countries' militaries have had openly gay members for decades and none of those problems has arisen.

Queerbashing is a big problem in the US military and DADT contributes to it by sending a message that gays aren't really welcome, just tolerated.

Dennis

Dennis, to explain the answer to your question would require the two of us to spend a bit of time at a quiet corner table in a public house.  The frame to understand why DADT is so hard to take apart  in the 'states is nitpicky-detailed.

At it's core, though, I feel strongly that a majority portion of military personnel are there for the maintenance of an adolescent power fantasy.  And being the "Greatest Nation On Earth" makes it exponentially harder to reconsider, and admit back to the team people you expelled from the team to maintain some sort of 'purity' of the team.

Without that Great Nation delusion, Canada can afford to be pragmatic.

Another black&tan, please...

Karen