Ww2 gay
Given the introduction of conscription in Excellent Britain in 1939, it is obvious that tens of thousands of gender non-conforming men and women ended up in uniform despite gay activity, at least in the case of the former, being illegal. With a constant require for manpower in the armed forces, there is certainly evidence that the authorities were willing to turn a blind eye to a recruit’s sexuality at the required initial medical examination, even when it was manifestly obvious.
For example, Terry Gardener, who worked as a drag queen before the war and wanted to continue in display business, was advised by his friends to really camp it up and be outrageous in front of the medical board to ensure he would be rejected. Unfortunately for Gardener, despite his best bids, he was passed and sent into the Royal Navy as a fry. Indeed, it seems that in the event that a recruit’s queerness was identified by a medical board they were more likely than not to be accepted anyway because of a widespread belief that they could be straightened out by the rigours of military life.
Some of the richest sources of information we have for the experience of gay men and women during the war are the oral histor
In our sexual histories series, authors explore changing sexual mores from antiquity to today.
Armies make men. Routine, order and discipline fetch out the greatest masculine characteristics. Uniforms transform young males just beginning their lives from nobody to somebody. Sacrifice, courage and loyalty among fighting men construct nations.
Or so our histories tell us.
The forces also foster other personal and collective identities at odds with widespread displays of military macho. Usually considered unlikely soldiers, queer personnel have made a valuable contribution to war since antiquity. Their efforts are rarely acknowledged.
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 Earth War II. Men confirmed identities they had already explored in civilian life or discovered thrilling new possibilities. Models of sexuality in the 1940s were largely but not exclusively based on gender. Gay men embraced feminine self-presentation as a crucial part of their identity. Many “normal” or masculine men had sex with their effete comrades.
US commanders in the 1940s were worried about the eff
“Gee!! I Wish I Were A Man”: Queer Americans in World War II
June is Pride Month and festivals and parades are happening across the society in celebration of LGBTQA+ Pride. But Pride didn’t start as a procession, it started as a protest with the Stonewall Riots in 1969 and many historians posit that the roots of these LGBT activists can be found in the Earth War II experiences of gays men and lesbians in the American military.
Anti-sodomy laws and regulations had been around since the Revolutionary War, leading in some cases to dishonorable discharge, courts-martial, or imprisonment for military men initiate having sex with other men. However, until 1942, no specific proviso barred homosexuals from serving in the military. 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. In 1942, the relatively new profession of military psychiatrists warned of the “psychopathic personality disorders” that would make homosexuals unfit to fight. The military’s policy that homosexual acts were a crime that merited discharge gave way to a psychiatrist-controlled theory th
Gay people
Lesbian, gay and trans life in Germany began to thrive at the beginning of the 20th century. Berlin in particular was one of the most liberal cities in Europe with a number of lesbian, gay and trans organisations, cafés, bars, publications and cultural events taking place.
Albrecht Becker – imprisoned by the Nazis for existence gay
By the 1920s, Paragraph 175 of the German Penal Code, which criminalised homosexual acts, was being applied less frequently. Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute for Sexual Science led the world in its scientific approach to sexual diversity and acted as an important public centre for Berlin female homosexual, gay, bisexual and transgender life. In 1929 the process towards complete decriminalisation had been initiated within the German legislature.
Nazi conceptions of race, gender and eugenics dictated the Nazi regime’s unwelcoming policy on homosexuality. Repression against homosexual men, lesbians and trans people commenced within days of Hitler becoming Chancellor. On 6 May 1933, the Nazis violently looted and closed The Institute for Sexual Science, burning its extensive collection on the streets. Unknown numbers of German lgbtq+ men, lesbians and trans