"Don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue": military policy and the construction of heterosexual masculinity

Abstract

This paper presents a description and analysis of military policy excluding lesbians and gay men. First, we discuss the current policy, review its official rationale, and outline the various criticisms that have been made against it. Next, we suggest an alternative framework for the policy's persistence. Drawing on work in feminist theory, we argue that the military's restrictions on the service of lesbians and gay men reflects an institutional and cultural privileging of a heterosexual masculine ideal. We conclude by speculating on the interests that lie behind the perpetuation of this ideal of soldiering.