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.
Contents:
- IN 1994, THE U.S. MILARY ACTUALLY CONSIRED BUILDG A “GAY BOMB”
- AIR FORCE LOOKED AT SPRAY TO TURN ENEMY GAY
- "COMG OUT UNR FIRE": THE STORY OF GAY AND LBIAN SERVICEMEMBERS
- THE U.S. MILARY ONCE PROPOSED A “GAY” BOMB
- A GAY SOLDIER’S STORY OF VIETNAM AND AFTER
- MILARY PROPOSED "GAY BOMB"
IN 1994, THE U.S. MILARY ACTUALLY CONSIRED BUILDG A “GAY BOMB”
The ia of a gay bomb me om a sire to bilate enemi but not necsarily kill them. The proposed bomb would nta strong aphrodisiacs and make soldiers "sexually irristible" to each other. * gay bomb vietnam war *
The ia of a gay bomb me om a sire to bilate and distract their opponents but not necsarily kill them. Wikimedia CommonsThe gay bomb was a theoretil cloud of gas that would turn enemy soldiers gay.
The gay bomb would be a cloud of gas that would be discharged over enemy mps “that ntaed a chemil that would e enemy soldiers to bee gay, and to have their uns break down bee all their soldiers beme irristibly attractive to one another. The scientists ntued to suggt addns to the gay bomb, cludg aphrodisiacs, and other scents. Dpe the drawbacks, for their work such an novative field, the rearchers who nceptualized the gay bomb were award the Ig Nobel Prize, a parody award which celebrat unual scientific achievements that “first make people lgh, and then make them thk.
"One distasteful but non-lethal example would be strong aphrodisiacs, pecially if the chemil also ed homosexual behavur, " says the proposal om the Air Force's Wright Laboratory Dayton, Pentagon did not ny that the proposal had been ma: "The partment of fence is mted to intifyg, rearchg and velopg non-lethal weapons that will support our men and women uniform. "Aaron Belk, director of the Universy of California's Michael Palm Centre, which studi the issue of gays the ary, said: "The ia that you uld subm someone to some aerosol spray and change their sexual behavur is ludicro.
AIR FORCE LOOKED AT SPRAY TO TURN ENEMY GAY
Liebman and more than 9, 000 Amerin servicemembers, however, eventually were given a Sectn 8 "blue discharge" for beg homosexual. 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.
In 1993, the Uned Stat was batg the discrimatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy regardg homosexuals the morn ary.
"COMG OUT UNR FIRE": THE STORY OF GAY AND LBIAN SERVICEMEMBERS
At the time, homosexualy was classified as a mental illns by the medil muny; mental illns was one ndn that disqualified young people om service. 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. Instead of chargg dividuals wh sodomy, a urt-martialed offense, the ary began intifyg spected homosexuals as psychopaths.
Such a move created an efficient system of discrimatn and prosecutn of homosexual members of the ary.
THE U.S. MILARY ONCE PROPOSED A “GAY” BOMB
The new iendships gave gay and lbian GIs refuge om the hostily that surround them and allowed for a distct subculture to velop wh the ary.
A GAY SOLDIER’S STORY OF VIETNAM AND AFTER
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.
Soldiers reprented female characters ary plays, and some homosexual soldiers found refuge om rigid genr rol. The irony that the ary selected two homosexuals to reprent the ial image of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps was not lost on Abry.
The feral discrimatory actns drove LGBTQ people further to the shadows of society and embolned law enforcement and policians, who beme more vlent toward gay and lbian cizens. Patrons of the gay bar fought back and sparked a vlent uprisg that started the gay rights movement the Uned Stat. Gay and lbian veterans of World War II beme some of the first to fight ary discrimatn and blue discharg the years followg the war.
MILARY PROPOSED "GAY BOMB"
My only hope is that anizatns around the untry m to pturg the voic of gay, lbian, and transgenr veterans and that we fd a place our history to honor their service as well.