The Revolutnary War Hero Who Was Openly Gay | HISTORY

the greatest gay general

Army Rerve officer Tammy Smh was promoted to the posn of Brigadier General last Friday. In dog so, she beme the first gay general to serve openly the U.S. ary. Gen. Smh talks wh NPR's Lynn Neary about her reer the ary and the signifince of her recent promotn.

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HISTORY’S GREATT GAY GENERAL

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... * the greatest gay general *

He was an famo disciplarian, a thls manr, and a ary was the symbol of Pssian masculy and arism, and he was also most likely gay.

Homosexualy is nate — at least is for me — but the social nceptn of what beg gay means has varied over we e the word "orientatn" today, 18th-century wrers would ll a "taste. It was so wily known, the late historian Louis Crompton wrote his book Homosexualy and Civilizatn, that historians had trouble rencilg Frerick's sexualy wh his greatns.

ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS

* the greatest gay general *

Several bgraphi have more than a whiff of his haggraphy of the kg, historian Thomas Carlyle rejected assertns that Frerick was gay as a "thrice-abomable mor" spread by those wh a "solacement to human malice and impertent cursy.

"Add Zimmermann:Voltaire, [the poet Lrent] la Bemelle, the [French foreign mister] De Choisl, numerable Frenchman and Germans, almost all the iends and enemi of Frerick, almost all the prc and great men of Europe, even his servants — even the nfidants and iends of his later years, were of opn that he had loved, as is pretend, Socrat loved even Zimmermann tried to straighten his hero, spng a dub and far-fetched theory that Frerick wasn't gay, he jt wanted other people to thk he was. Beg whout his grap wouldn't f the image of a ary manr, Zimmermann's theory go — though there's no evince Frerick was strated — so he played gay.

"Frerick the Great's reputatn as one of the world's most famo homosexuals seems secure.

THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY

US Army General Com Out as Gay, Introduc His 'Hband' at Pentagon Gay Pri Event * the greatest gay general *

"This soldier, young, handsome, well ma, and who played the flute, served to enterta the prisoner more than one fashn, " the French wrer and philosopher Voltaire a personal letter, Voltaire would pare Frerick to the gay lover of ancient Bhynian kg Nies IV. But he had already repeatedly cshed their, spe Frerick's "greatns, " 's hard to see the Pssian kg beg a gay hero.

But ultimately, he is remembered as a symbol of 18th-century nservatism — which self would be overthrown by the French Revolutn and a gay hero? But he was fely a great gay dron to AKs, high technology to low polics, War is Borg explor how and why we fight above, on, and below an angry world.

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 policy banned lbians, gay men and bisexuals om servg the ary.

TAMMY SMH: FIRST OPENLY GAY U.S. GENERAL

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.

HISTORY’S GREATT GAY GENERALWAR IS BORG·FOLLOWPUBLISHED WAR IS BORG·8 M READ·MAR 9, 2014--1LISTENSHARENO, NOT ALEXANR THE GREAT—FRERICK THE GREAT

“People mt fd fort and ph back some of that ternalized homophobia, and build a b on the journey between hont and thentic. Gay men have always been part of the Amerin ary. In an era before gay marriage or open pri, ary men fell love, formed passnate iendships and had same-sex enunters.

RICHARD GRENELL NOW HIGHT-RANKG OPENLY GAY OFFICIAL US ERNMENT HISTORY

But the se of one of the ary’s foundg hero, homosexualy was always part of the story. Historians also thk he was homosexual—and served as an openly gay man the ary at a time when sex between men was punished as a crime. He also downplayed mors that the baron had been dismissed om the Pssian ary for homosexualy.

But he was gay, and homosexualy was viewed as a crimal aberratn by many of his peers.

WOMAN BE FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL

”After the war, von Stben legally adopted both men—a mon practice among gay men an age before same-sex marriage was legal. John Mulligan, who was also gay, served as von Stben’s secretary and is thought to have had a relatnship wh the baron.

US ARMY GENERAL COM OUT AS GAY, INTRODUC HIS ‘HBAND’ AT PENTAGON GAY PRI EVENT

Durg von Stben’s lifetime, the ncept of gay marriage, gay pri or g out was unthkable and there was no language or open culture of homosexualy.

But historil homosexual relatnships were actually don’t mean beg gay was ndoned: Sodomy was a crime lonial Ameri.

RECLAIMG EMPIRE'S GREAT GAY HERO

Smh is now the first openly gay general the Uned Stat jos om the Pentagon jt a moment. If you are a gay or lbian member of the ary and have e out sce the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell, " please give a ll and tell your story at 800-989-8255. She is the first openly gay general the Uned Stat ary.

And I also read that, you know, before you were able to be openly gay the ary that, you know, a lot of thgs had to - everythg you did or thought about had to sort of be planned, a way. You - as a gay woman, you uldn't. SMITH: Well - and you characterized that as a gay woman, but I would have to say more jt as a woman the ary, that are there the Hmm.

But I do know that the Mare Corps do not honor gay marriag. Well, I wanted to ask you, you are - I know that you shy away om this, but you have to know that you are a role mol as a woman, as you said, and also, aga, as a gay woman.

ARMY’S 1ST OPENLY GAY GENERAL CELEBRAT ADVANC DURG PRI OBSERVANCE S. KOREA

So there will be some folks who will look up to me for beg gay - and not so much bee I'm gay, bee that's not really signifint, so much as that I upheld my personal tegry a way that is fortable for me. Go No - well, first, general, I am ecstatic that you are a general, and you beg gay has nothg to do wh you beg general.

And she was reced to Naval Intelligence and live a closeted life, fact, married a gay man when she was telligence so they uld mata their ver.

Did the fay know that she was gay, but she never uld tell the ary that? Yeah, she knew she was gay when she was eight years old.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* THE GREATEST GAY GENERAL

Army’s first openly gay general retir after spirg others | Article | The Uned Stat Army .

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