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TreasureKY -> RE: GAY SOLDIERS: Fighting for the right of Republicans to boo them for 236 years! (9/25/2011 9:37:49 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Aneirin
...But what exactly is wrong with homosexual soldiers, the Grecian Empire was made on them, but then perhaps the ancient Greeks were a bit more advanced than us in a few ways, we in our present age appear to have devolved, and I do wonder if the last two thousand years worth of spiritual belief caused that, the sexual dark age.
But for all the gay haters, I would have thought they would be all up for gays in the military for obvious reasons.
While I'm sure there are some who might be considered "gay haters", I don't believe that is a significant portion of those who object to open homosexuality in the military.
From my understanding, the broadest objection stems from the same objections you might get if proposing that female soldiers have no separation from males in terms of billeting and sanitary facilities. I'm talking about sharing personal areas... open bay sleeping areas and communal bathroom facilities.
Please understand that I'm addressing this from the position of having been a female soldier. While I had no qualms about serving next to male soldiers and doing my job, I would have had a serious problem if I'd been expected to house with, share sleeping quarters, and bathe in communal showers with the males with whom I served.
As a general object of sexual interest to heterosexual males, I would have been more than uncomfortable if I had been forced into a situation where I would have to share personal space with those same men. Dressing and undressing, showering, etcetera would have made me feel as if I was on display for any with prurient interest.
That is not to say that I would have worried any more about rape or unwanted sexual advances. Those kinds of things can happen regardless of where people sleep and bathe, and in all kinds of work situations... military and civilian.
That is also not to say that I didn't serve with any women who might have had the same kind of sexual interest in women. I might have. Thing is, if I was ogled by my female comrades-in-arms, I wasn't privy to their sexual preferences and therefore wasn't uncomfortable about it.
Why do we have separate toilet facilities for men and women? Why is there any kind of living separation (girls and boys dormitories, etc.) based on gender? Why don't we undress and try on clothes out in the open in a clothing store? Why do we wear clothing at all? Is it that we fear rape or unwanted sexual advances, or is it because we do not wish to open our intimate selves to unsolicited sexual attention? While I'm sure there are elements of both, I suspect it is more the latter than the former.
Whether through societal pressure or environmentally how we are raised, I believe there is still a very strong element within our society for privacy between the sexes. I think that although there are some who do not have any problems with casual co-habitation, many still have a deep-seated aversion to the judgment and sexual evaluation that comes with being an object of sexual interest by someone with whom they have no reciprocal interest.
Yes, it's true that I've been speaking specifically of different genders, but I believe it boils down to the same type of situation.
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