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.