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For a brief news cycle last week, the focus of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy was not on whether the Obama administration would repeal the policy, but on the fact that women are more likely to be kicked out of the military under the policy. An article, by Lisa Leff of the Associated Press, explored both new statistics released by the government and possible reasons why the inequality exists.
The story prompted many blog post and tweets, but most emphasized the numbers and not the underlying conditions that created them. American culture loves statistics and the latest on Don't Ask, Don't Tell, don't disappoint. From the article:
Women accounted for 15 percent of all active-duty and reserve members of the military but more than one-third of the 619 people discharged last year because of their sexual orientation. The disparity was particularly striking in the Air Force, where women represented 20 percent of all personnel but 61 percent of those expelled. That is a significant jump from the previous year and marks the first time women in any branch of the military constituted a majority of those dismissed under “don’t ask, don’t tell,” researchers said.
Besides a few well-placed tsks, there really wasn't much discussion on what the statistics mean. The one place where a small discussion is occuring is at Feministing.com. From Marc:
I think the simple explanation for this is that, while homophobia is high in the military, men can hide their homosexuality by "male-bonding" (objectification of women) more easily. Women, on the other hand, often have their personal and sex lives scrutinized more, not because of policy, but simply as common, unofficial practice as part of this "male bonding."
From Phoquess:
I used to think that being a female meant that I would be LESS likely to have DADT used against me... this is something of a wakeup call. I remember having to sign paperwork stating that I would never tell anyone I was gay or bisexual or act that way (though I'm currently only in ROTC and I don't think they have the resources to stalk people and find out.) I always wondered where Integrity First (Air Force so-called core values) came in, and what a GLB servicemember was supposed to say if asked about their orientation.
The lack of traction on this story doesn't surprise Anuradha K. Bhagwati, Executive Director of Service Women's Action Network (SWAN). "The media is spinning it wrong,” she shared during a phone interview. “They tend to oversimplify and sensationalize stories. It's not just about lesbians: Women are uniquely affected by this policy."
According to Bhagwati, the statistics about women and DADT are symbolic of the general discrimination and sexual harassment that all women with careers in the military have to endure on a regular, if not daily basis. Bhagwati says that the real story is not the DADT statistics but the level of sexism that exists in the military. "If this is just presented as a gay issue then the sexism within military will not be dealt with in a meaningful way."Bhagwati says even when DADT is repealed, there still will be discrimination in the military.
One of the women who was kicked out of the marines because of DADT was Julianne "Jules" Sohn, who was featured in the Associated Press story. Before her discharge, Sohn was promoted to captain while serving in Iraq. Now, Sohn is a vocal advocate for the repeal of DADT. Sohn now works as a Public Information Officer for the LAPD and serves as the media director for SWAN.
Like Bhagwati, Sohn shared her thoughts about the media's coverage of the DADT statistics in a phone interview. Sohn says before she enlisted she thought DADT was a great policy. As a student at UCLA, Sohn wrote a 20-page research paper on the policy. She says she understood it on an academic basis. "I saw it creating a space for gays to serve." Sohn says, " Before I entered the military I thought it would protect me." Sohn now says she was idealistic and didn't think it would be hard to follow DADT.
However, the reality of the deception she had to live hit Sohn during basic training in Quanico. "Away from training my fellow lieutenants could talk about their boyfriends and girlfriends. I couldn't say anything. Can you imagine going through one work week and never mention your loved ones?" Sohn lived this double life for eight years even living an
