A well-timed photo project by Jeff Sheng has received quite a bit of attention in the last several months. In each photo, a figure appears in a nondescript room, his or her face obscured in shadow, wearing a military uniform. Sheng reached out to lesbian and gay service members of all branches of the U.S. military to sit for these portraits, which preserve their anonymity while identifying them as individuals affected by a policy referred to as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), with which the project shares its name.
In 1993, Congress passed DADT, which stipulates that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) troops are allowed to serve only if they do not divulge their sexual orientation. (Transgendered service members are not mentioned specifically but, unfortunately, ignorance on the part of military personnel means that even trans-identified troops who are not LGB are targets of scrutiny that may lead to their expulsion thanks to this policy.)
This February, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates appeared before Congress to discuss the implementation of a review of DADT by the Pentagon. This comes after President Obama made clear his desire to have DADT repealed in his State of the Union address in January—a desire that must be reaffirmed by Congress once the review is complete, which could take up to a year.
Many gay rights groups and mainstream liberal media outlets couldn’t be happier that the policy is being questioned, but why? It seems hypocritical to encourage queers to join an organization whose sole purpose is to defend and expand the control of a country that refuses to extend domestic rights to its LGBT citizens. And, as a group that faces oppression and bigotry on a daily basis, how can we make ourselves complicit in the oppression and discrimination of others around the world while demanding our own freedom?
Whether DADT is discriminatory or unfounded has never been in question. The oft-cited claim by supporters of DADT that allowing LGBT troops to be open about their sexuality would hurt unit cohesion and morale were refuted in a study by the RAND Corporation (a historically conservative organization with deep ties to the U.S. military) commissioned by the Pentagon the year the bill was passed. The study stated that any adverse reactions to policy change could be quelled if there were support from the top for its implementation. The same study, though, advocates that enforcement of a policy to integrate open LGBT troops requires that “emphasis should be placed on behavior and conduct, not on teaching tolerance or sensitivity.”
Tricky Timing
Traditionally, policy regarding the LGBT community has reared its ugly head whenever one party has felt the need to ignite the ire of either the left or the right. President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) during his campaign for re-election in 1996. The act defined marriage as a union between and man and a woman and absolved any state from having to honor the right of same-sex couples to marry granted by any other entity. President George W. Bush successfully rattled the cage of social conservatives in 2004 by endorsing a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
President Obama is no different. His push to repeal DADT comes at a time when his approval ratings have been below 50 percent since November and the mainstream media have painted a picture of a politician who is increasingly unable to follow through on his campaign promises. A repeal of DADT, or at least significant progress in that direction, will prove to the liberal base that championed his campaign that he still has their interests in mind, while not rocking the boat of perceived bipartisanship as much as an endorsement of same-sex marriage or even a more vocal opposition to DOMA would.
Policy to protect the LGBT community has not fared well in comparison. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace, has been introduced and failed to pass in the Congress every year since 1994. The Human Rights Campaign, one of the largest lobbying organizations for gay rights, has endorsed multiple versions of the bill that lacked an inclusion of trans-identified individuals for protection from workplace discrimination.
The decision by some LGBT individuals to take part in an institution of exploitation and suppression shouldn’t be considered indicative of the interests and beliefs of our community as a whole. In the end, it’s the responsibility of the entire LGBT community to make our own priorities and push for rights we all deserve; lobbying groups and politicians cannot dictate them to us. The elimination of discrimination in every workplace, not just the military, should be a priority. We need to make it clear that repealing DADT is a hollow victory and a diversionary tactic that we aren’t going to fall for. We don’t want marginal equality for some when it means becoming complicit in taking it away from someone else.
