No, Gay Soldiers Won't Be Allowed to Cross-dress While on Duty

This is Dan.

(Military Times photo)

As you can see from the photo, Dan is a combat veteran of Iraq. Dan is not only an infantry officer, but he also has a degree in Arabic -- something very important if you're going to be in a place like Iraq. Dan earned his degree in Arabic -- and his commission -- from a very good school in upstate New York known for providing America with some of its best leaders. The school he attended is commonly known as "West Point."

Now, notice that Dan is not wearing a dress. He's wearing the Army's standard ACU. Also, notice that Dan is not wearing makeup, eyeliner, or dangly earrings. He's just wearing the normal Kevlar helmet and protective eyewear that you typically see infantrymen wear in Iraq. Observe that Dan also looks as though he's barking orders, something infantry officers sometimes have to do in dangerous situations. What he's not doing, however, is hitting on the other male soldiers in his unit. And he's not spying on his fellow male soldiers in the shower.

Dan isn't doing any of these things because he's a professional. And this is important to note, because Dan is gay. In fact, Dan recently helped found a new group of former West Pointers and Army officers just like him. The Army Times described it this way on Monday:

Thirty-eight graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., came out of the closet Monday with an offer to help their alma mater educate future Army leaders on the need to accept and honor the sacrifices of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender troops.

"Knights Out" wants to serve as a connection between gay troops and Army administrators, particularly at West Point, to provide an "open forum" for communication between gay West Point graduates and their fellow alumni and to serve in an advisory role for West Point leaders in the eventuality -- which the group believes is both "imminent and inevitable" -- that the law and policy collectively known as "don't ask, don't tell" are repealed by Congress.

"We're publicly announcing our sexuality, our orientation," said 1st Lt. Dan Choi, a National Guardsman with the 1st Bn., 69th Infantry, based in Manhattan. "It's just one part of who we are in saying that we are standing to be counted."

Now, most Americans -- 81 percent, in fact -- are proud of the work Dan has done in serving his country, regardless of his personal life. But that last remaining 19 percent (probably closer 40 percent in the Army) -- who don't think Dan should be allowed to acknowledge his sexual orientation publicly -- aren't so sure. And this has caused them to come up with some very strange arguments to force Dan to keep his sexuality a deeply hidden secret.

Take for example their arguments in the YouTube clip below. It's a 5 ½ minute segment of a BlogTalkRadio show I did last week, in which I discussed the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy with conservative mil-blogger and Iraq vet, C.J. Grisham, mil-blogger and Afghanistan vet, Troy Steward, and a former conservative Alabama radio show host, Pamela Furr.

The point in illuminating this segment is to show that there's no substantive opposition remaining in the fight to repeal the DADT policy. All the arguments we're seeing consist of vague fears about "social experimentation," discomfort with the "shower situation," and mild terror over the thought of cross-dressing soldiers.

But soldiers like Lieutenant Dan Choi dispel all the hysteria. And that's a good thing. Because, in the end, gay soldiers are identical to straight soldiers: They're professional, they're competent, and they take care of their troops. And any time they're not, they are -- and should be -- treated the same as any straight male soldier who sexually harasses a female soldier. That is, with harsh discipline.

So it's time for a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Conservative America's fears are unfounded. As long as you can shoot straight -- or speak Arabic or Pashto -- it's shouldn't matter whether or not you are straight. Soldiers like those involved with Knights Out have demonstrated that.

Also available at VetVoice

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Comments

[DonnaMarieWms]

Some people still DO NOT GET IT!!!!!!!!!!!

Being gay does not mean you cross dress, and being a crossdresser does not mean you are gay!

Sheesh

[markinaz]

It's infuriatingly stupid to think that gay people are any less patriotic than there straight counterparts. All of my gay friends who joined the military over the years did so for varying reasons. Not one of which was to ogle all the straight boys in the shower. DADT is the second stupidest thing to come out of the Clinton years. DOMA being the first. By the way, a bit off topic, but I heard good ol Ted Haggard was finally divorcing his wife. Haven't seen it reported yet though.

[Aesthete]

I really don't believe that anyone would cross-dress while on duty.

[autumn59]

I'm a transgender veteran, and was the past secretary of the Transgender American Veterans Association. Yes, there are real transgender veterans.

~~And, I can tell you that trans people who are closeted and in the military do crossdress after hours.~~

However, the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) does not, and will not include the gender identity or gender expression of transgender servicemembers. That is a separate battle that may or may not be taken up after DADT is repealed.

[BlackJAC]

I'm suddenly reminded of Robin Williams' Leo radio character in GOOD MORNING VIETNAM. "If you're going to fight, clash!"

[Gidster]

It was Adrian Cronauer's character, Williams played him in the film.
Just to clarify... :)

[gradstudent6]

Where's the conservative rage against straight male soldiers who harass female soldiers? Why aren't they calling for harsher punishments for sexual violence against women in uniform? I'm sure they'd be all up in arms if there were glances in the men's shower, but no one on the conservative punditry side seems to be that upset about the rapes that go unpunished every year in the military. It's just sickening. Everyone, straight, gay, male, or female, should have the chance to serve their country with honor and without the fear of being harassed or discriminated against by their fellow soldiers.

[Gidster]

Rapes are up! Prosecutions are not!

[Pippen]

Policy can be changed when we're not at war time and by our legislators not by soldiers themselves. The military is not a civilian environment and is not afforded the same Free Speech. "Individuality" is a bad thing in the service and I suspect Mr. Dan the Man is going to get his uniform taken away publicly and swiftly and there will be no "righteousness" around the event.

Dan is free to lobby congress on his off duty hours but not while in uniform and currently serving a post.

I served. Some openly told everyone they were gay and others just never spoke of it but it was a known fact that was not hidden and nothing bad happened to these members because they were gay. The other sailors do care if members are gay but not enough to default on their oath to God and country. It would be ridiculous to say that straight members NEVER think or that showering with gays would NEVER impact their morale though. Lets not clean slate reality here. Some training would be required to ensure a calm transition of a new law.

The rights afforded straight members should be entirely covered and written to support gay members also.

This is a political football nothing more. The military has had gay members for eons of time.

[Gidster]

That is the problem.
Your homophobia, and that of others has already thinned the ranks by more than 10,000!
The transmission of the 9/11 attacks go order was translated well after 9/11 because the Arabic translators were discharged.

Latent homophobia like latent racism will take time and training to be erased, but breaking regs to openly come out will no go well for Dan.

[MJinCanada]

Just to be an excrement agitation specialist (because, yes, I know most cross-dressers are straight), I would like to point out that some of the toughest soldiers throughout history have worn skirts:

Romans wore short woolen tunics, sometimes with a leather kilt for a bit of protection, an outfit basically the same as the Greeks and Hoplites wore in their wars.

Scots wore (and still do wear) kilts. In WWI, the Germans called Scottish units "the ladies from hell."

The Swiss mercenary guard at the Vatican wore some gorgeous tunics with knee-length full skirts and poofy sleeves during the Renaissance (Raphael painted them with Julius II). Their current uniforms are distinctive and colourful too.

The modern dress Greek military uniform includes a traditional white pleated skirt called a fustanella.

Plus, the German mercenaries of the 15th and 16 centuries (look up "landsknecht") wore the most outrageous outfits you can imagine, yet it was extremely unwise to get in their faces because they were some of the meanest SOBs in Europe.

[mamacat]

As recently as the beginning of the American Civil War, there were some amazingly diverse and colorful uniforms. Perhaps by the end of the conflict most Northern troops wore blue, but not at the beginning!

Not talked about in the article, but why should women combat troops have to wear men's clothing? I know, there isn't supposed to be any such thing as women combat troops, but that doesn't stop them from getting raped and killed.

[IndianaJohn]

And Celtic warriors, both men and women, often went into battle against the Romans stark naked.

[darker]

You mean privates cannot dress like captains any more? What's the whirled coming to...

[JayceRen]

Gay men rarely if ever crossdress unless they are doing drag, which is specifically for entertainment purposes. The vast majority of crossdressers are heterosexual men, and most are married with children. If anyone is concerned about gay military men crossdressing, the concerns are simply not valid. The statistics on crossdressers just don't bear this out.

[cylindar]

I hate to tell you this but there are more important issues to be dealt with at the moment. No one really cares if your friend wears a tutu or not.

[Daniel D 68]

Sorry

Dan is an "LT" so it is only 30-35 men he is in charge of

[Daniel D 68]

Bottom line Good Ole Dan is violating an order, It is not his position to decide which orders he follows or not, and him being a Captain, that regulation was in place when he joined so it is not like he joined thinking it was ok, The Regulation may be antiquated and it may need to be updated, but it is not the individual soldiers decision. The policy was put in place by the Commander in Chief, and Dan has sworn an oath to obey those orders. It is up to our Current Commander in Chief to resend the policy, until then a good soldier should follow orders unless there is valid reason not to, just being uncomfortable with his decision to join while this policy was in place is probably not a valid reason. And Dan being a Commissioned officer and a West Point graduate is held to a higher standard, he is the guy in charge and standard bearer for his Company of 100-120 Men who are duty bound to follow his orders whether they agree with them or not. His choice to speak out is courageous and admirable, but illegal.

[demfriend]

I work at my job at a Naval Medical Center and we have all services served by us so I see a lot of soldiers who are while not totally open about their sexuality they are gay. They are professional at their jobs and they don't dress or act like you have people afraid they will. They act oddly enough like you and I and whomever you would point a finger at. Yeah the soldiers are very professional and never any awkward moments or actions by them. We also have civilian workers like mysel in many different jobs across the gament and guess what people some have purple hair and spiked hair with funny colors woven in and multiple earrings with nail polish and eye liner. Are these men gay? I don't know or care as the are great workers who sometimes scare active duty men more than those they share commands with who they know are gay. Those soldiers I speak with will say they would much rather have any gay man willing to risk their lives and take their back than some who want to run home to momma after a few day/weeks/months in boot camp.

[novowel4me]

Seems like the research on this has been done by other countries. I think the Brits, Canadians and some others have had openly gay members serving for awhile without problems. Are Americans just more homophobic than other countries?

[klmebane]

even israel allows openly gay soldiers..

[Salvadore69]

Gee, I thought that all military garb was now unisex. So much for the title.

Let's be simple about this, no one should want any sexual conduct of any nature (hetero, homo, animal, ect) in and around the base and combat areas. It is simply disruptive. That said, if a person choses to practice a fetish (cross-dressing, say) or a sexual act at an appropriate non-military area, it should not make any difference. The day when the government and the military could claim that a person who is publicly open about who and what they are could be blackmailed by "the enemy" is gone. Those who hid themselves are the ones who can be used.