Republican presidential hopeful Ben “Should-Have-Stuck-To-Brain-Surgery” Carson recently offered this sage wisdom on gays and lesbians serving in the armed forces:
“I mean, why do you have to go around flouting your sexuality? It’s not necessary, you don’t need to talk about that, we need to talk about how we eliminate the enemy.”
To say nothing of the fact that he meant “flaunting,” not “flouting,” his comments reflect a pervasive misconception that being open about one’s sexuality is somehow a distraction from them getting the job done.
But for some servicemen and women, this latent homophobia is enough to keep them in the closet.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Below, we hear from guys on Whisper about their experience being gay in the military:
Sebastian Holiday
You should recaption your pic: ‘how to peddle yet another dimwitted cliche.’ Heterosexual one at that.
Giancarlo85
Um darn… I thought I was going to open an article with an interview of a gay military member or something. Nope. More fake click bait articles with fake whiny whisper quotes.
parrjj03
My husband is a behavioral health therapist in the Air Force, we have had nothing but great experiences with the military.
Ives Meagher
Who cares about your sex
..YOUR’RE their to do a job! To protect and serve!! This shouldn’t even be a fucking story. It is just MORE attention to what we are trying to assimilate into society guys. Wake the fuk up and move on with your life
..jeeesh.
Xzamilio
@parrjj03: That’s nice. Mine was mixed. The first duty station in Hanau, Germany with my MP unit was great for me. The next assignment in Hohenfels with an infantry unit was terrible… the testosterone and macho attitudes made being openly gay absolutely impossible, and this was before DADT was repealed. But, still, these Whisper posts border between whiny and contrived.
BigG
Honestly no one cares anymore. Times have changed. You might get the occasional bigot, but as long as you carry yourself well people will respect you. Its nice to not hide anymore or worry about who is going to attack you.
AndYouWillDeal
In the military you are a number and you are there to do your job, no one needs to know your sexual orientation, that’s just more distraction, same reason why women don’t do well in combat
Giancarlo85
@AndYouWillDeal: Yet women were in the frontlines of the Soviet Army during WWII and the best Russian snipers were… female. Lyudmila Pavlichenko…
The US military just needs to change its doctrine to be more accepting of women.
The Israelis also have women in frontline combat and so do a number of European countries.
Giancarlo85
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzi#/media/File:PikiWiki_Israel_12768_IDF_parade_in_Jerusalem_in_1968.jpg – 1968.
Yeah. Well… something really isn’t right in America if even the apartheid state of Israel is ahead in that regard.
CWM85
Its a shame of this countries treatment of glbt citizens over the years just like race, gender over the years… this country has had to amend its ways on how it treats some of its citizens. I’m glad Obama, congress few years back finally repealed dadt. And such shameful laws over years by gop and dems on the glbt community in military over the decades.
bottom250
I love men in uniform.
Tracy Pope
@AndYouWillDeal: Dear Jason/Bryan,
I’m sure you’re still reading antiquated 1950’s military codes and believe whole hardheartedly but I’d really like to see ANY peer reviewed CURRENT studies/thesis or proof that you’re not just being your usual troll self.
Tracy Pope
Who knew you could be a renowned surgeon and a moron. Ben Carson has no idea what it’s like in the military today. He, along with just about every other right-wing kook running for president seem to think every gay person in the military is hitting on everyone and screaming “I’m gay”.
These idiots should be forced to join the military and actually serve their country before they are allowed to say stupid $hit they know nothing about.
AtticusBennett
proof of how intense homophobic bigotry is: folks who will go into a war zone and risk death are scared to tell Westernized Christians that they’re gay.
AtticusBennett
@AndYouWillDeal: LGBT Canadians have been serving openly for more than 20 years in our military. But hey, you just admitted that the American Militaries are generally populated by ignorant insecure hicks. USA! USA!
Brian
The military isn’t the place to show off your sexuality. Regardless of your orientation, you need to remember that you are there to do a job. You’re being paid to do a job.
AtticusBennett
@Brian: i know. it’s disgusting the way so many straight soldiers disgustingly show off their sexuality by talking about their spouses back home, or their *gag* families. always showing off their sexuality.
haha. i like your post. you’re a textbook example of what happens to a broken boy who never learns how to stand up to his homophobic family. he becomes a wimpy anonymous internet troll for the rest of his life.
#DontBeABrian
William Thomas Bramlett II
At night, in a fox hole, under heavy fire! Every ones name is sheirly!
Gunther Hofmeister
Giancarlo85
@AtticusBennett: Brian should go back to Jason Smeds. Now I like the Brian in Family Guy… always funny. The Brian on here is a perpetual downer who is always making insults.
BTW here is another picture:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LoPTdkHrjjk/StCaR4jOTiI/AAAAAAAAFjg/Jb9sBkcVw-o/s1600/battle-kursk-russian-women-soviet-soldiers-second-world-war.jpg
Brave Soviet women soldiers during the Battle of Kursk in WWII.
AndYouWillDeal
@Giancarlo85: And yet numerous studies show that combat teams with mixed genders UNDER perform when compared to combat teams with only males. Women are certainly good at certain things, such as shooting. But when it comes to going into physical stuff…No.
AndYouWillDeal
@Tracy Pope: Dear…Ignoramus…I’m not any of those people.
And here’s one:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/19/problems-women-combat-cant-be-mitigated-report/?page=all
Stay mad.
AndYouWillDeal
@Tracy Pope:
And another
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/09/11/marine-study-women-in-combat-injured-more-often-than-men.html
AndYouWillDeal
@AtticusBennett: And how is their performance????
Kieran
Interesting how we never hear Trump saying sh!t like this about gays, yet he’s the one accused of being a “bigot” by the lamestream news media.
Giancarlo85
@AndYouWillDeal: And where are these studies? Care to name of them?
@AndYouWillDeal: Moonie Times. You could have picked a better source than that rag. Did you know the late owner of that site was revered to be a living god by his followers? That site should have been buried with its founder…
@AndYouWillDeal: Another souce that hasn’t much credibility.
Giancarlo85
@Kieran: Yet Trump has said shit about gays.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-gay-marriage_55df3412e4b029b3f1b1d228
He’s gone to “gay weddings” (like I give a crap about that)… but he also said:
“I have been against [same-sex marriage] from the standpoint of the Bible, from the standpoint of my teachings as growing up and going to Sunday school and going to church, and I’ve been opposed to it, and we’ll just see how it all comes out.”
– DONALD TRUMP… STRAIGHT FROM HIS MOUTH.
Got a problem with it, Kieran? How about you stop following lamestream Fox News?
Nick Schmall
As a gay Marine, I can honestly say this article has a decent amount of value
Giancarlo85
Donald Trump is firmly against same sex marriage. He described it as something he doesn’t feel right about and it’s not (his) thing. LOL. I would tell him “Okay… it isn’t your thing… nobody is asking you to have a same sex marriage”.
I wonder why he even supposedly went to a same sex wedding (that’s not even confirmed!)… when he doesn’t feel comfortable at all with the idea of same sex marriage and is against it?
He’s as against it as Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.
But put aside same sex marriage. Lets not talk about it anymore and move onto other issues… where does Donald stand on other issues? Quite disturbing and arrogant!
Giancarlo85
Hey Kieran, why should I vote for Donald Trump? Because he went to a gay wedding? LOL. Man, if I was that shallow I wouldn’t vote for him because of his sh*tty hair.
No, my reason for not supporting him is that he is ridiculous, pompous and incredibly destructive. His vague policy suggestions would drive this nation into bankruptcy and tarnish the image of this country even further. I want to keep my JOB. I do not want America going into an economic depression. Everything the republican party has suggested is pro-depression.
Alan David Smith
i know actuall vetrens. my next door neighbor was a veteren from vietnam and so was my former boss. they don’t discuss race or sexuality. when they do talk about it. they talk about the fact they were hated at home even more than abroad. the fact that they were sent to defend some of the poorest countries on the planent. where things like indoor plumbing are luxeries. they compare the meds they are on. and the buddies who didn’t come home. i could watch horror movies and not want to throw up as bad as the description my boss gave of his time in guam. to the men and women who served around the world at diffrent times and places. thank you
Jesse Cerna
Boss says he doesn’t care, accepts me and everything i say /asked about my transition(im not in army).even told me about one of his …. Someone way above him who did it(transition) and was accepted.he says as long as they did the work it was all good.
trell
Ignoring all the politicised posts regarding Trump, the usual trolling from AndYouWillDeal and the usual moaning about another “Whisper” editorial, I still like this article.
I knew that there was a lot of suppressed sexuality in the days of “DADT”, and it is interesting to hear the attitudes of gay people in the armed forces. – Not just positive for the LGBT community, but positive for the military as well. – It’s a sign of the times that by and large, it seems that it is a non-issue for those people actually serving in the military as to the sexuality of other members of their squad…
…but obviously Ben Carson is a bit too obsessed with siding with the tiny small-minded minority who would deplore knowing that they are serving & fighting for their country alongside “fruits & fags”.
As for flouting/flaunting/outrageous exhibits of homosexaulity, maybe Dr Carson should stop googling for “Gays in the Military” pics. (I bet he has a few Dink Flamingo videos hidden in his internet cache!)
AndYouWillDeal
@trell: LMAO, at me supposedly trolling. So presenting a more moderate, more conservative view is “trolling”? Why? does it “trigger” you? Are my opinions “microaggressions”?
If you don’t like freedom of speech, move to North Korea.
AndYouWillDeal
@Giancarlo85:
Why “unreliable”? Because it disagrees with your biased, leftie views?
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/09/10/439190586/marine-corps-study-finds-all-male-combat-units-faster-than-mixed-units
AndYouWillDeal
@Giancarlo85:
And some more receipts
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/423888/women-combat-endanger-their-fellow-soldiers-lives-david-french
trell
@AndYouWillDeal:
I would say that your incessant need to write replies to every single detractor of your very simple & single minded views pretty much evidences some serious insecurities. Look at the last 3 posts above. All of them are yours, and all of them are just target replies to people you disagree with.
And this isn’t the only page on Queerty that you’ve done this on. – Step 1) Write something provocative/offensive. Step 2) Individualise abusive comments to all those people who challenge said comments.
Yep. Looks like trolling to me.
Giancarlo85
@AndYouWillDeal: Maybe the US military needs to change its doctrine? The Israelis and other western nations have had women serve in combat for decades and that works out fine. You are a total troll who has no clue about anything. Opinion editorial articles don’t count as evidence.
Prinny
Another I’m gay and in the military now praise me fake article.Queerty get back to the dead pornstars articles, at least those were about really important things.
Tracy Pope
@AndYouWillDeal: The Washington Times? You could have just put up something from Brietbart; they’re fairly interchangeable and equally discard-able. Military.com? Both those sites are ultra right-wing. I’m not a crazy liberal. I recognize extremes and these two fit the bill perfectly but I read them anyway. Both articles are slanted against women in combat from the beginning. TWT doesn’t even bother to list a source for “A British study…”
Nobody is arguing that all women should be in combat. My job in the military (still) has a 99% wash-out rate – and that’s just learning it. In military training, every person, regardless of gender, sexuality, religion or race, has the opportunity to prove themselves to be the best before being put in their positions. Not every man in the military goes into combat. Not every woman goes into combat. To make a blanket statement that women shouldn’t be in combat positions is just short-sited.
davidjohng
@AtticusBennett: Oh, so there actually IS a Canadian military!
Tracy Pope
oops. *shortsighted (thanks auto-correct)
AtticusBennett
@davidjohng: yup. and the US has lost every war they’ve entered without the Canadian’s support.
4of14
“I mean, why do you have to go around flouting your sexuality? It’s not necessary, you don’t need to talk about that, we need to talk about how we eliminate the enemy.” Enemy? That would be ignorance, Dr. Carson, something you seem to know a lot about.
AndYouWillDeal
@trell: Hilarious that you say I’m trolling by “targeting replies”, isn’t that exactly what you are doing? Oh the hypocrisy. And for you a point of view different than your extreme leftist one is “inflammatory”, LMAO, you are no better than the feminazis and the tumblerinas needing their safe spaces, with no criticism, or they feel “triggered”.
Alistair Wiseman
@davidjohng:
The long-standing rumor that Canada has its own military is true. Their most powerful weapon is the telephone with which they can call America and say, “Help! We’re being invaded, eh!”
GayEGO
In 1960, I was in the Navy at the Naval School of Music in Washington, D.C. as a Navy musician who played the flute so I know about the harassment, but I kept quiet. I was transferred to the Boston 1st Naval District Band Unit in 1961, met my lifetime partner in 1962 at a gay bar in Boston, and was honorably discharged in 1963. I kept my personal life separate from my military duties as one did not mention same-gender attraction. I learned how to deal with the harassment of being a flute player, living with a guy in an apartment who was my “roommate”, and I used humor to resolve the rhetoric. One guy who used to harass me had a habit of reaching for a cigarette in my jumper pocket when all of us in the band were having a break. The next time he reached for a cigarette I screeched, “Oh! You just pinched my tit!”. After that, the guy apologized and treated me as a friend. My partner and I are now both retired and living the American dream.