{"id":167,"date":"2020-04-01T13:17:38","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T13:17:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dh-wordpress.ramapo.edu\/SSI-2020\/lgbtqmilitary\/?page_id=167"},"modified":"2020-05-06T13:27:31","modified_gmt":"2020-05-06T13:27:31","slug":"lgbtq-history-in-the-military","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dh-wordpress.ramapo.edu\/SSI-2020\/lgbtqmilitary\/lgbtq-history-in-the-military\/","title":{"rendered":"LGBTQ+ History in the Military"},"content":{"rendered":"
World War Two<\/h2>\n
The LGBTQ+ community has served in the military throughout American History.\u00a0 “World war two disrupted the family system and the traditional gender roles associated with it, loosened sexual norms regarding same-sex and opposite-sex sexual behaviors”(Johnson).<\/span> This was due to the need for ammunitions and a workforce to support the war. The men who typically held these spots went off to war, so minorities and women filled the factories. This gave the LGBTQ+ more freedom, especially in urban areas. This unfortunately changed during ww2 and with the coming of the cold war.\u00a0 Evidence was created showing widespread homosexuality that caused the government to react harshly to the LGBTQ+ community (Johnson). Due to the vast amount of persecution beginning after world war two, many groups began equal rights movements including African Americans, Women, and LGBTQ+, who all had more freedom during the war. Veterans specifically were heavily involved in these movements. Many felt like they fought for their country so they deserved to be treated equally to the white men they fought with.<\/p>\n
Lavender Scare<\/h2>\nThe News-Palladium. Benton Harbor Michigan. Wednesday, March 29, 1959<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
“On July 1, 1969, the federal district court declared that ‘federal civil servants could no longer be \ufb01red solely on the grounds that they were homosexual” (Johnson). For historians, this marks the beginning of the Lavender Scare. For twenty-five years the federal government targeted homosexuals and led a witch-hunt to exclude them from federal jobs. This happened parallel to the Second Red Scare which was a witch-hunt for people the federal government believed were communists. Senator Joseph McCarthy led both these scares, falsely accusing many of being a threat to national security. This led to mass hysteria, paranoia, and persecution. The LGBTQ+ community was targeted because of cold war anxieties. People needed someone to target to diminish their fears (Johnson).<\/p>\n
Cold War Conflicts<\/h2>\n
During the Korean war (1950-1953) and the Malaysian emergency (1950-1960), many Veterans kept silent about their gender identity and sexual orientation due to the new laws. Most of those who revealed their orientation did so posthumously. In times of war though, reports have been done that show leniency in enforcing policy for some LGBTQ+ people due to the fact that the country was in war.<\/p>\n
In the Vietnam war (for American involvement 1959-1973) mental health was a huge issue for veterans. LGBTQ+ service members who had to hide their sexual orientation and gender identity had to deal with hiding who they were and the tragedies of war. Many veterans still hid their identities for fear of discrimination, especially with medical help. One of the few people who did start a movement was Leonard Matlovich, an airforce sergeant who was discharged in 1975 after revealing himself to be gay to a superior officer. He died in 1988 from AIDS and his tombstone displays the now-famous quote: “When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one”<\/p>\n
The rejection of LGBTQ individuals has a long and lengthy history. Any issues revolving this topic cannot be solved overnight due to generations of exclusion and anti-LGBTQ sentiment. It is extremely difficult to gain equal rights for a group that has always been discriminated against. Take women or African American for example. It has taken hundreds of years to get to the point modern society is now. Another lesson to take fro these examples though is that even if equal rights have not been fully achieved, society is constantly working on changing that. I believe that the rights for the LGBTQ+ community is becoming more and more of a movement<\/p>\n
Go to the Arguments against LGBTQ+ to see more about Don’t ask Don’t tell and Transgender in the military.<\/p>\n
World War Two The LGBTQ+ community has served in the military throughout American History.\u00a0 “World war two disrupted the family system and the traditional gender roles associated with it, loosened sexual norms regarding same-sex and opposite-sex sexual behaviors”(Johnson). This was due to the need for ammunitions and a workforce to support the war. The men … <\/p>\n
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