Derwood

I've known some celibate homosexuals before. It's not a difficult idea to grasp unless you're under the illusion that homosexuality is defined solely by a physical act.

As for comraderie/disruption/etc......this comes back to the ridiculous notion that any gay man in the army would be doing nothing but trying to get into everyone else's pants. Let's not flatter ourselves here, guys. I've worked in the theatre world for 15 years and haven't been hit on once by a gay man. I'm pretty sure the meat head homophobes are safe from any sexual advances

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GreyWolf

One of the problems with discussions of this sort on this site tends to be the rather liberal mind-set of most members. The very nature of the forum attracts people who are more open-minded towards non-stereotypical heterosexuality. But we (if I may include myself in that group) are not necessarily typical of the general population, at least at the moment. As MM pointed out, we may well be ahead of the curve, and hopefully rightly so.

But the military would generally be towards the other end of the spectrum... more conservative towards non-conforming behaviour, less quick to change. And that is why I think the DADT policy is wrong. I think acceptance of homosexuality in the military is progressing, albeit slowly. In the meantime, there are members there who are not bad people, but still struggle mightily with the concept of homosexuality and serving with homosexuals. I don't understand the position in anything other than an academic sense, but it exists, and in greater percentage than TFP members would probably imagine.

And so, if homosexuals are to be allowed to serve in the military (as I believe they should), then it should be openly. But those who cannot deal with it emotionally should be given the opportunity to resign without stigma.

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Derwood

I don't think anyone here is under any illusion that the military is anything but hardcore conservative. What we seem to (mostly) be on agreement on is that that particular culture needs to take a step forward in terms of acceptance. I don't buy the idea of "gays shouldn't serve in the military because the culture is too conservative." That culture is taught and nurtured from the top down, so one would hope (perhaps naively) that an edict from the Commander in Chief on the issue would go a long way towards a trickle down of acceptance among our servicemen

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snowy

Really? I guess some of us have what's called self-control. I'm bisexual and shower with other women in the locker room at the gym on a regular basis. It's not that difficult to keep your eyes to yourself. Plus, this idea presumes that everyone in the shower is attractive. I do assure you that that is not often the case.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau