Updated: History of U.S. Policy and Law on Gays the Milary - USNI News

Contents:

• TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY
• UPDATED: HISTORY OF U.S. POLICY AND LAW ON GAYS THE MILARY
• BRIEF HISTORY OF GAYS THE MILARY
• "COMG OUT UNR FIRE": THE STORY OF GAY AND LBIAN SERVICEMEMBERS

TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY

Rictor Norton, at his webse Homosexualy Eighteenth-Century England, has llected an imprsive number of primary sourc, though few reference sailors.

UPDATED: HISTORY OF U.S. POLICY AND LAW ON GAYS THE MILARY

Somethg that be clear Norton's work is that there was ltle or no legal distctn at the time between those who engaged a sgle same-sex act, those who were exclively homosexual, and anyone who fell between. In his A Queer History of the Uned Stat, Michael Bronski pots out that the very term 'homosexual' wasn't vented until 1869 'to help nstct a narrative around a person fed by his or her same-sex sexual sir and actns.'[2] Richard Godbeer, his say 'The Cry of Sodom' likewise pots to the sufficiency of morn fns:. We nnot say that sailors who engaged homosexual acts intified as homosexual, nor n we say that others fed them as such before they were nvicted.

Brish society believed that a lack of accs to women gave rise to homosexualy, and there was perhaps no place the eighteenth century so exclively male as the navy.

BRIEF HISTORY OF GAYS THE MILARY

In his 1761 trial for 'sodomy' at the Old Bailey, William lled numero character wns to his fense who ttified that he 'always behaved as one that had an affectn to women,' was 'equently women's pany,' and that 'he lov the pany of women a thoand tim more than men.' Today we would regnize the facts as irrelevant to the act self, but eighteenth century law, a sgle homosexual act was equated wh beg exclively homosexual. Rodger argued his book The Woon World: An Anatomy of the Geian Navy that acts of homosexualy were not as mon the mid-eighteenth century Royal Navy as many assume:. Consirg that the navy oped up thoands of young men for months on end whout accs to women, is surprisg how few homosexual cints rulted prosecutn.

Earle agreed that 'the crowd ndns of shipboard life ma difficult to nceal homosexual relatns om other members of the crew.'[11] The close quarters of a ship are obv to even the sual observer of marime history, but the danger ntued ashore as well.

"COMG OUT UNR FIRE": THE STORY OF GAY AND LBIAN SERVICEMEMBERS

Wh the threat of ath hangg over their heads, the unlikelihood of fdg a man wh the same sexual clatns, and the very real chance of tectn, even those men wh homosexual leangs faced many obstacl to actually engagg the act. Early the eighteenth century, the famo Puranil preacher Cotton Mather ma the nnectn between an terveng God and homosexual acts among sailors:. Arthur Gilbert, his paper 'Buggery and the Brish Navy, 1700-1861,' agreed that officers avoid accg their ras of engagg homosexualy.

For what n be seen as a victim-ls crime (at least s of nsensual homosexual acts) officers would unrstandably be reluctant to prosecute seafarers. Rodger argu that homosexualy and homosexual acts were almost entirely absent the navy and treated wh difference, while Gilbert believed to be unmon but unniably prent and treated wh dranian btaly. He believed that fear of beg pated as a homosexual stutn motivated officers to be overzealo punishments when they were forced to nont them urt.

He argued that 'while is difficult to terme whether or not the fear of sodomy was more acute this perd than earlier tim, there is certaly evince to suggt that the phobic reactn to reached a highwater mark durg the eighteenth century' and that this is the e of the harsh punishments meted out to all who were nvicted.[20] Stark agre wh Gilbert: 'Englishmen, unlike other European men, did not approve of any show of affectn between men,' bee 'a male homosexual was a threat to the very ncept of malens.