Sailors and Sexual Identity: Crossing the Line Between "Straight" and "Gay" in the U.S. Navy (Haworth Gay & Lesbian Studies,)

338 Pages·1995·21.184 MB·English

by  Steven Zeeland

STEVEN ZEELAND

Sailors and Sexual Identity
Crossing the Line
Between “Straight” and “Gay”
in the U.S. Navy

Sailors and Sexual Identity
Crossing the Line
Between “Straight” and “Gay”
in the U.S. Navy
Steven Zeeland
Routledge
Taylor & F s Group
ion
© 1995 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced
or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
microfilm and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
The Haworth Press, Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580
Depiction or mention of any person in this work should not be construed as an implication of said
person’s sexual orientation.
Names of, and some personal details about, active duty servicemen depicted in this work have
been changed or scrambled to protect their identities.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zeeland, Steven.
Sailors and sexual identity : crossing the line between “straight” and “gay” in the U.S. Navy
/ Steven Zeeland.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-56024-850-5 (alk. paper).
1. United States. Navy—Gays. 2. Gays—United States—Identity. I. Title
VB324.G38ZA4 1994
359’ .008’6642-dc20 94-28996
CIP
For Troy
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Steven Zeeland is the author of Barrack Buddies and Soldier Lovers:
Dialogues with Gay Young Men in the U.S. Military (Harrington Park
Press, 1993). He attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
and is a Research Associate at the Center for Research and Education
in Sexuality (CERES) at San Francisco State University.
CONTENTS
Foreword
ix
Prologue: “Are You in the Navy?”
Xi
Introduction: The Myth of Heterosexual Purity
17
Anthony: The Boot Camp Dream
47
Eddy: The Sea Bitch
61
Lieutenant Tim: The Uniform
89
Trent: The Boatswain’s Locker
David: ‘“‘Hard,”’ Not “Tough” 105
125
Ray: The Navy Corpsman Nipple Piercing Ritual
145
Gregg: The Unmaking of an Activist.
179
Russell: Strong Friendship
199
Sonny: Navy Tradition
215
Kevin: The Network
229
Jack: ‘‘Don’t Kiss Me, I’m Straight”
247
Chaplain Phil: Gay, Straight, Whatever
263
Joey: I'll Always Bé a Sailor
287
Anthony (Coda)
291
Reference Notes
The subtitle of this book contains a reference to the U.S.
Navy “Crossing the Line’’ tradition, a time-honored, offi-
cially sanctioned initiation ceremony in which sailors tra-
versing the equator for the first time may experience cross-
dressing, sadomasochistic rituals, and simulated anal and
oral sex. This is but one of the illustrations provided by the
sailors in this book of the flexible boundary between what is
“straight” and “gay” in navy life.