- checking login information
Loading...Why Women Suffer More Under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
It seems odd that women, who comprise a smallish percentage of the armed forces, would suffer more under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the military’s policy on closeted gay, lesbian or bisexual service members, but Janice Formichella, writing for Jezebel, has some alarming statistics to prove it. Formichella explains,
“Although women made up only 15% of the armed forces in 2008, 34% of service members discharged under were women. This dynamic varies greatly between the various branches of service. For instance, women make up only 20% of members in the air force, yet made up 62% of Air Force discharges under DADT (2008).”
Formichella continues, saying that although gay servicewomen are clearly more negatively impacted by the policy, the effects extend to all servicewomen, regardless of their sexual orientation. Women are subjected to harassment based on speculation about their sexual orientation, known as “lesbian baiting”; this is also used as a form of intimidation.
According to a Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) factsheet, racial minorities are also disproportionately affected by DADT. Their statistics report that “non-white active duty service members represent 29.4% of the total military population, but comprise 45% of all DADT discharges in 2008.”
President Obama was recently part of a push to repeal DADT, which passed the House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee in May but has yet to pass the Senate. If this repeal passes, however, it is unlikely to be implemented before 2011. Clearly, these statistics illustrate the desperate need to end a policy that does not allow LGBT servicepeople to list their partner as their next of kin, and denies many benefits to LGBT couples. A federal judge struck down DADT on Thursday, so we could be on the right track.
The work of organizations like SWAN proves a disturbing point: that although a majority of Americans think that gay people should be able to openly serve in the army, the military is still deeply uncomfortable with anyone serving within its ranks who is not a heterosexual white man.
Read more: civil rights, dadt, discrimination, dont ask dont tell, gay rights, lgbt rights, us army, us military, womens rights
Photo from the U.S. Marines' website.
have you shared this story yet?
some of the best people we know are doing it
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
Recent Comments from Causes
Thank you!
wonderful story,glad there is a happy ending,heartwarming
Le foie gras devrait être banni partout. Pour l'instant, certains états américains…
meet our writers
44 comments
+ add your ownShame on me, I never thought about service women in connection with this issue.
wow Empress Ginger, for an "empress" you sure are narrow minded. maybe if you actually got out and met some lesbians you wouldn't think they were like men lusting after your "straight" woman-hood. Oh, and maybe if you met some gay men too you could see past your stereo-types of them. Good luck to you!!
Don't ask don't tell-its not your business....thats it.
Empress Ginger, you made me laugh with some of your comments. :-)
"more gay women are drawn to military work than gay men. If it was musical theater or fashion designing more gay men would be there"
That's a bit of a cliche. lol My 4 closest male guy friends work in food retail management, implementing and managing the ICT network for the British National Health Service and teaching. One who died a few years ago was also a teacher. None are interested in fashion, though I have to admit that one was a huge fan of Maria Callas, but not musical theatre.
I have to disagree with your statement about housing gays with straight people. As a female, I would not want to be housed with men because my body is different, not because I couldn't trust them not to want to have sex with me. I would have no problem being in the same room as lesbians though since they have the same body parts as me. It has nothing to do with sexuality. Just because you are gay it doesn't mean you fancy everyone who is the same sex as you. Do heterosexuals want a sexual relationship with everyone of the opposite sex? No, so why should a homosexual? :-) So many people assume that gay people think about sex all the time. They don't, they're just like heterosexuals.
Gays in the military are as old as the Spartans. They were a force to be reckoned with. We can learn from the Ancients.
That's totally logical. It's just that more gay women are drawn to military work than gay men. If it was musical theater or fashion designing more gay men would be there.
They need to find a way to let them serve in my opinion, but I can understand why straight service members balk at it...as they are all housed together by sex. I mean as a straight woman you'd not want to be housed with a troop of men...or a troop with gay women.It's the same issue.
Thanks
I WAS IN THE MILITARY, USAF, IN THE EARLY 70'S AND AT THAT TIME WOMEN WERE CLASSIFIED AS EITHER GAY OR LOOKING FOR A HUSBAND! I WASN'T GAY, I WANTED A GOOD EDUCATION AND THAT IS JUST WHAT I GOT AND I MANAGED TO FIND A HUSBAND TOO ANOTHER USAF, AND WE HAVE BEEN MARRIED FOR 38 YEARS. I WAS APPROACHED BY A MEMBER OF THE SAME SEX WHILE MY HUSBAND WAS OVERSEAS AND JUST TOLD HER I WASN'T INTERESTED AND THERE IT STAYED AND WE GOT TO BE FRIENDS!! REPEALING DADT WOULD BE THE RIGHT THING TO DO NOW!!!!!!!!!!
I think the "lesbian baiting" thing is appalling and scary. Of course, all women SHOULD swoon if pursued by a man in a uniform, what straight girl could resist his macho charms?
The idea that rebuffing unwanted advances, or reporting sexual harassment equates to being a lesbian is ridiculous. What if she is straight but has a boyfriend or husband and that's why she's not interested? Or she just isn't into this particular guy? Or she doesn't choose to date work colleagues? Or she thinks he's a knuckle-walking misogynistic slob?
If you repeal DADT, then there'll be no excuse for this. You know she's straight, or you know she's not. Harassment will no longer be a litmus test for any female service member's preference, and then the way will be open to investigate and discipline the harassers rather than their victims.
@ Nyack Clancy
"When is the last time you saw a person of color or a women within the governmental rankings of Vatican City?"
That's just the Roman Catholic church. There are numerous Christian denominations that allow women as pastors, and certainly many churches that welcome all people, regardless of race, gender, sexual preference, disability, socio-economic status etc.
login to add your comment
use your care2 login
add your comment