Gay sailors in the navy

It could be incompatible with military service, it could be bad conduct due to whatever. But I still put my career on the line because I still had a month on my contract. It details widespread bullying and harassment, discriminatory. You want to talk, we can talk later. We took that oath. It was important that you were able to continue the mission of the ship, to be able to represent the Constitutionto be able to represent the Navy in the way that you were selected to do so.

While Navy regulations criminalized homosexuality, there was no active movement to purge gay Sailors from the service. Beginning in World War II, the military instituted an outright ban on homosexual service members. Among his many other duties, Santiago now works with veterans from all branches of the military who were discharged for being gay and refused veteran benefits.

It was very important for me to do so. Brooklyn native Robert Santiago joined the U. But it was tough. For LTBTQ sailors who saw the Navy as a refuge, it feels like a betrayal. This report documents the range of abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students in secondary school. This includes androgynous, bigendered and gender queer people, who tend to see traditional concepts of gender as restrictive.

Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health, 15(3), 7Haldeman, D.C. (). Therapeutic antidotes: Helping gay and bisexual men recover from conversion therapy. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy, 5(3/4), 8Fjelstrom, J. (). Sexual orientation change efforts and the search for authenticity.

But I just decided that I needed to just be myself from that point on. He understood that the military often mirrors what happens in the civilian community, but sometimes the military is ahead of the civilian community. They were predominantly effeminate gay men who worked either in entertainment or as waiters on cruise ships, often becoming off-shore 'wives' for heterosexual sailors for the duration of voyages.

Veterans from all over have attended the town halls, including sailors from USS Constitution. The Pentagon is looking to rename ships named after civil rights icons, including the gay rights leader Harvey Milk. Sea queens is a term referring to gay men who worked aboard mainly merchant vessels before the s. Hungary deepened its repression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people on March 18 as the parliament passed a draconian law that will outlaw Pride and similar events, thereby.

Brooklyn native Robert Santiago joined the U.S. Navy induring the military’s ban on LGBTQIA+ people serving openly in the armed forces. That changed in when Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Homosexuality and the Royal Navy In recent decades, maritime and social historians have increasingly turned their attention towards the social lives of sailors.

Some sailors are fresh out of bootcamp, some are returning from the fleet, and some, like Santiago, are nearing retirement and reintegration into the civilian community. We finished our careers after 20 years with honor and distinction and sacrifice. At that time, DADT was still in effect in the military, but marriage equality had been legally recognized in Massachusetts since While ships out in the fleet have crews of hundreds or thousands of sailors, USS Constitution is a small, diverse unit of around 70 sailors.

Most historians agree that there is evidence of homosexual activity and same-sex love, whether such relationships were accepted or persecuted, in every documented culture. But, he also knew he had the support of Commander Bullard. Unfortunately for those interested in LGBTQ+ maritime histories and sexuality, research can be more challenging. Transgender is an umbrella term used to describe people whose gender identity (sense of themselves as male or female) or gender expression differs from socially constructed norms associated with their birth sex.

And I did. Though Santiago had to conceal part of his identity while in the Navy, he successfully completed his first tour and began his second duty station in Belgium. Just recognize him in a very formal way outside of love. In his experience, adherence to DADT depended on the individual commanding officers. At the time, the question on year-old Santiago’s mind was, “What’s going to happen while I’m in service, while I’m wearing the uniform?”.

As a petty officer, he also took on a leadership role in mentoring junior sailors on Constitution. And who we love is an extension of us and of who we are and what brought us to where we are at that particular time, whether in service or out of service. Sexual orientation refers to an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, or both sexes.

At the state level, Santiago is working with fellow Veteran Service Officers to align the Massachusetts state benefits with VA guidelines.