Gay ww2 soldiers
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These anxieties have been persistent. Some sailors necked in public.
This indiscreet behaviour led to rumours.
Or so our histories tell us.
Anxieties about homosexuality reached fever pitch in the second world war with the rising influence of psychology and its promise to make better armies. The doctor proclaimed that a tongue depressor test could screen out gay people not just from military service, but from other federal agencies as well.
Other doctors began exploring whether they could diagnose homosexuality—through Rorschach tests or by measuring sexuality through hormone tests.
But the blue discharges ruined many lives. It’s not surprising that when World War II began, Gilbert Bradley did not want to be in the army at all. However, until 1942, no specific proviso barred homosexuals from serving in the military. Gordon describes the non-stop anxiety over worrying if Gilbert would survive the war, and every letter in the mailbox filled him with so much relief and joy.
When the Military Expelled LGBTQ Soldiers With ‘Blue Discharges’
For the first 100 years of its existence, the U.S.
military relied on a two-pronged discharge system. Scuttlebutt sparked the interest of naval commanders. Millions of men freed from the conventional expectations of society suddenly found themselves far from home with only other young males for company.
My research on queer lives and loves in the South Pacific reveals how US servicemen created vibrant and visible subcultures at home and abroad in World War II.
Men confirmed identities they had already explored in civilian life or discovered exciting new possibilities. The islands were home to some 40,000 US troops in the war making it the largest base in the South Pacific outside Australia. They were often marked “HS” or some other code for homosexual, effectively disqualifying the veteran from receiving any GI rights or benefits and barring many discharged soldiers from getting civilian jobs.
While not a lot is known or confirmed about transgender people serving in the U.S.
military during World War II, there are some stories of trans World War II veterans. Once in the military, lesbians created social networks, with mannerisms and coded language aiding them in finding each other. With the growing acceptance of the validity of psychoanalysis in the medical profession in the 1920s and 1930s, attitudes towards sodomy and homosexual individuals had changed.
Drag shows were quite popular during the war, like “G.I.
Once he realized that “G” stood for Gordon Bowsher, he was shocked. She also led the WAC to demand more strict screening to determine the motivations of women wanting to join the WAC. But lesbians still joined up and served their country. Sacrifice, courage and loyalty among fighting men build nations.