An Invading Army of Rockettes: How US Military Policy on Homosexuality and the Voyeurism of the Vietnam War Era Shaped the Gay Rights Movement, 1956-1969

Author

Marq SchulingFollow

Abstract

This paper seeks to trace the complex attitudes towards homosexuality in the 1960s through the lens of the Vietnam War. I postulate that adopting the cause of protesting the ban on homosexuals in the military, coupled with the expansion of voyeuristic and sensationalized depictions of homosexuals, served to unify the gay community and strengthen homosexual identity. The voyeurism of Vietnam as the “Living Room War” brought the homosexual man out from the shadows, and though homosexuality continued to be considered a marker of mental illness and instability, the desire to see the taboo world of the gay man changed the baseline and ultimately began to normalize homosexuality overall.

First Advisor

Doug Sackman

Degree Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Rights

Default Rights Statement.

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts in History

Date of Award

Spring 5-13-2018

Department

History

Recommended Citation

Schuling, Marq, "An Invading Army of Rockettes: How US Military Policy on Homosexuality and the Voyeurism of the Vietnam War Era Shaped the Gay Rights Movement, 1956-1969" (2018). History Theses. 28.
https://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/history_theses/28