Newly Published Portras Document a Century of Gay Men's Relatnships | Smart News | Smhsonian Magaze

Contents:

• NEWLY PUBLISHED PORTRAS DOCUMENT A CENTURY OF GAY MEN LOVE
• ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS
• TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY
• IN WWII, TWO GAY SOLDIERS’ FORBIDN ROMANCE LIV ON IN THEIR LOVE LETTERS
• NEW OVERWATCH LORE CONFIRMS SOLDIER 76 IS GAY, AND CHOSE HIS MISSN OVER HIS RELATNSHIP
• GAY SOLDIERS STOCK PHOTOS AND IMAG
• ARMY’S ‘GAY SOLDIERS’ PHOTO WAS STAGED, IS MISLEADG

NEWLY PUBLISHED PORTRAS DOCUMENT A CENTURY OF GAY MEN LOVE

Before "don't ask, don't tell" was officially repealed for gay, lbian, and bisexual ary personnel 2011, a photo of a male Mare drag uld have land him hot water.

"Lbian, gay, and bisexual ary personnel had been servg our untry for s whout receivg equal protectn, while transgenr troops are still prohibed om servg openly. "As a gay man, I n relate to what is still the opprsive stigma of homosexualy. “Lovg” featur around 300 photos that offer an timate look at gay relatnships between the 1850s and 1950s.

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.

ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS

It terrified her to e out as gay such a public way, but she felt a rponsibily to do , she said. As difficult as was for her, g out publicly as gay “may not have been as easy for someone who was at a lower rank, ” Smh said an terview last week.

“When I me durg the 80s, thgs were different for women and gay people, and now 2021, the societal l are different aga. “People mt fd fort and ph back some of that ternalized homophobia, and build a b on the journey between hont and thentic.

The are the voic explag what has been like to be a gay man1 the Amerin ary over the prev seventy or so years, om World War II veterans their late eighti to young servicemen on active duty.

TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY

Life Today as a Gay ServicemanHow we got here: In 1992, many people thought that the discrimatn was nearly over. "I remember beg the Castro, " says John Forrett (army rerve, 1987–99), "and watchg the TV at a bar wh some iends, watchg Al Gore and Bill Clton swearg that if they beme the tag team for Ameri they were gog to get rid of the harassment of gays and lbians servg the ary.

" Gay people were allowed the ary but only as long as they didn’t reveal their sexualy; to facilate this, all members of the ary were also prohibed om quirg about anyone’s possible orientatn.

Gay people were only acceptable, effect, to the gree to which they uld succsfully masquera as nongay. Seventeen years which gay servicemen have existed a paradoxil kd of herworld.

IN WWII, TWO GAY SOLDIERS’ FORBIDN ROMANCE LIV ON IN THEIR LOVE LETTERS

Servicemen were advised that until then the policy would still apply, and that they uld potentially face s sanctns if they intify themselv publicly as gay.

’ "Air Force #1: "Two of my iends were disvered, both officers—’s a long and arduo procs for an officer to get kicked out for beg gay. "Air Force #2 (senr airman, three years): "No one at my job would ever, ever spect that I was gay at all. And you’re good at your job—a gay person wouldn’t be good at his job, so obvly you’re not gay.

You’re a Mare, you don’t md gettg dirty, gog out to the field and not showerg for weeks at a, if you were gay, when you have to shower wh all the other guys you’d get all exced. I mean, if you want to hi, the Mare Corps is one of the bt plac to do that, bee nobody wants to adm they are standg next to a gay guy. I had ma about halfway through and the recer was trated wh how long was takg me, and he said, ’Well, basilly, are you gay?

NEW OVERWATCH LORE CONFIRMS SOLDIER 76 IS GAY, AND CHOSE HIS MISSN OVER HIS RELATNSHIP

One Man’s Operatn Iraqi FreedomMany gay servicemen the morn era—cludg Eric Alva (Mar, 1991–2004)—have pleted long ary reers whout their sexualy ever beg revealed. And therefore few people realized that the first Amerin serly wound the vasn of Iraq durg the send Gulf war was a gay Alva signed up, before "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, " he had to lie on his paperwork.

GAY SOLDIERS STOCK PHOTOS AND IMAG

Lbians have suffered unr the same prohibns and prejudic and share many of the same experienc, as well as some that are distct, but this article ncentrat on the experience of gay men. And when, 2006, the battl over "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" the ary and gay marriage the wir muny were simmerg, Alva’s boyiend at the time poted out to him that he did have some notoriety that might be of e. For gay ary members who choose to do so, there has been the extra burn that their partners mt rema visible.

ARMY’S ‘GAY SOLDIERS’ PHOTO WAS STAGED, IS MISLEADG

(The meetgs have been arranged through a private onle work lled OutServe, set up only last year, which allows gay and lbian servicepeople a safe and secure way of fdg and munitg wh one another.

To be the ary and still try to live any kd of life as a gay man, ’s not Force #4 (senr airman, four years): "Right now our relatnships don’t exist.