As "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to an end, we sent Chris Heath to terview dozens of gay servicemen om the past and prent to fd out what life was really like as Ameri's ary stggled wh s last great inty crisis
Contents:
- THE HISTORY OF GAY CIVIL WAR SOLDIERS, ALISON BECHL THE ‘NEW YORKER’, AND MORE LGBT NEWS
- THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY
- ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS
- "COMG OUT UNR FIRE": THE STORY OF GAY AND LBIAN SERVICEMEMBERS
- GAY RIGHTS
- TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY
THE HISTORY OF GAY CIVIL WAR SOLDIERS, ALISON BECHL THE ‘NEW YORKER’, AND MORE LGBT NEWS
WASHINGTON -- Sce Maj. Gen. Tammy Smh, the ary’s hight-rankg openly gay officer, me out 2012, she has tried beg an example of livg... * gay civil war general *
C., signalg the war’s begng, s gay Conferate and Unn soldiers didn’t have to worry about the morn famo DADT policy, which blatantly discrimated agast gay, lbian and bisexual servicemembers. ” And “un hn, ” the big battleground issue durg the fight to repeal DADT which posed that the “homosexual gaze” would be the root e for disptn (which was totally bunked by a 2002 study), was not an issue. But the qutn, some would argue, of who were LGBTQ service members and who weren’t the Amerin Civil War is a disgenuo query sce the words “homosexual” and “heterosexual” weren’t part of the Amerin lexin until thirty years after the war end.
THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY
Gay and Lbian soldiers faced extraordary discrimatn durg World War II. Most found new muni of people and thrived spe the opprsn. Disver the film Comg Out Unr Fire that shar their story. * gay civil war general *
However, many would also argue that not havg a word like “homosexual” back the day of the Civil War to pict same-sex attractn among soldiers do not negate our e of to scribe them this prent day.
ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS
The gay rights movement the Uned Stat began the 1920s and saw huge progrs the 2000s, wh laws prohibg homosexual activy stck down and a Supreme Court lg legalizg same-sex marriage. * gay civil war general *
Usg archival documents such as urt-martial and medil rerds, newspaper articl, pornographic books and rds, and letters and diari of the soldiers, Lowry’s foc was to addrs the problem of prostutn – straight and gay – and why both the Unn and Conferate Armi had to work to stop sexually transmted fectns om cripplg their soldiers, bee STIs were stg more soldier’s health and liv than actn on the battlefield.
"COMG OUT UNR FIRE": THE STORY OF GAY AND LBIAN SERVICEMEMBERS
Now that same sex marriag and homosexual rights groups prsurg for equal rights, should e as no surprise that the people should attempt to gra the nam of famo Civil War hero an attempt to better their own e. This along wh the fact that he beme toxited and hugged a man that he said he'd shared blankets wh durg the Mexin War (see Patrick Cleburne above) got him pated today as a homosexual.
When shots were fired om Fort Sumter, a fortifitn near Charlton, S.C., signalg the war’s begng, s gay Conferate and Unn soldiers didn’t have to worry about the morn famo DADT policy, which blatantly discrimated agast gay, lbian and bisexual servicemembers.
Some queer Civil War buffs would argue that none were dishonorably discharged – although, there is rerd of three pairs of Navy sailors urt-martialed for “improper and cent terurse wh each other.” And “un hn,” the big battleground issue durg the fight to repeal DADT which posed that the “homosexual gaze” would be the root e for disptn (which was totally bunked by a 2002 study), was not an issue.
GAY RIGHTS
"The story of GLBT don't start wh Queer as Folk, " says Ang, an assistant profsor of stud art at Maryville Universy St., who is gay, beme terted cross-drsg Civil War soldiers after happeng upon a few imag of women who prented as male orr to fight the nflict. "Even though the inty of eher a gay male or a lbian or a bisexual or a trans person did not exist at this time, they did exist, " says the photos, which he prevly exhibed at his universy and hop to take to LGBT centers around the natn, he seeks to regnize the soldiers as pneers the movements for women's and LGBT equaly.
Ang not that if there had been a ncept of gay male inty at the time, she and her hband would have appeared to be a gay uple; men uld be openly affectnate and even sexual wh each other, and such activy was labeled bad behavr rather that an ditor of a person's inty. After beg ptured separate battl 1861 and put prisoner of war mps—William Upham was sent south to Libby Prison, Richmond, Virgia, and Lewis Gay north to Fort Delaware, near Wilmgton—both were released the next year a prisoner exchange that swapped Unn soldiers for treatment as prisoners, they both said, was humane at this early stage the war— ntrast to the horrors that happened later on notor plac like Anrsonville, southwt Geia.
TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY
Tammy Smh, the ary’s hight-rankg openly gay officer, me out 2012, she has tried beg an example of livg thentilly while also beg a bean of visibily to other Soldiers and their fai.
The 1994 documentary Comg Out Unr Fire giv voice to the experienc of thoands of gay and lbian servicemembers who joed the ary durg World War II, a story that is largely ignored by historians and mms across the untry.
Gay and lbian recs were forced to answer qutns vaguely, or lie about their sexualy, orr to be allowed to serve; otherwise, they would n the risk of beg sent home and brand as “sex perverts. Servicemembers on every waront enjoyed drag show entertament; an entire gay lexin was veloped om the wrgs of Dorothy Parker; and eventually an unrground queer newspaper emerged.