The navy is gay joke explained
Hello, Sailor!
"You appear up on the poop deck often?"
It's a lonely existence in the Navy. Outside prison or single-gender schools, probably the most well-known version of Situational Sexuality is in the naval service. For centuries, men would be left alone together on ships for weeks on endnote women weren't allowed to provide in the Navy until the tardy 20th century, and at least in the US, weren't allowed to aid in every position as the men (like in submarines) until the 2010s. Sexual needs and desires were still present, and that meant a lot of men turned to one another for comfort. This has led to sailors (or seamen of any stripe) becoming sex symbols among gay men. Definitely Truth in Television on occasion, and in fiction, a common subtrope of the Manly Gay and Unbent Gay types. Beautiful much Older Than Steam.
Since homosexuality was stigmatized (and even illegal) until
AskUs: What is the origin of the “gay sailor” stereotype?
So one of our readers asked us this question the other day: Out of the 4 branches of the military, why does Navy get portrayed as “Gay” in movies and just in general as a joke?
ANSWER
It pre-dates the United States and was present in the English Royal Navy as well. The actually reason is very straightforward. Sailors were sometimes, and more often reputed, to be prison gay. That is they were removed from an environment with large numbers of women for months, sometimes years, at a time and turned to alternative sexual practices. A captain or officer might have a wife aboard a ship but everyone else was pretty much on their own (you can detect these women by looking at the quartermasters records and seeing who was drawing double rations).
Sodomy if found out was generally punishable with flogging or death.
I don’t know too many books/articles on this topic exclusively but it is touched on in a number of books on the larger topic of sailors lives. Rediker touches on it in Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. Joe Flatman definitely addresses it in Cultural biographies, cognitive landscapes and dirty ol
Billy Joel has finally addressed the 'Piano Man' gay prevent theory
22 August 2024, 14:14
It's his signature song.
In fact, 'Piano Man' became so beloved that Billy Joel would frequently become known as the "piano man".
'Piano Man' was Joel's breakthrough tune and has continued to bookend his concerts to this day, often acting it as his encore.
But in the years since its 1973 free, the song has taken on an entirely new essence to an entirely new generation of fans.
Joel himself was surprised in 2015 after acting at the Bonnaroo festival in the US, when the young crowd sang along word-for-word.
It's also taken on a new meaning with the LGBTQ+ society too, with a theory circulating that 'Piano Man' is about a piano player in a gay bar, organism the only person in there who doesn't know.
Some sections of his fans believe the narrator of the song is a naïve straight male who's unsure of his surroundings, with his audience asking him: "Man, what are you doin' here?"
Now in a recent interview with NBC Today, Joel has addressed the 'gay bar' theory first-hand.
GI Rights Hotline
Fact Sheet
After you read this fact sheet, please call the Hotline (877-447-4487) to talk over your options with a counselor.
Harassment
Servicemembers who are suspected of entity lesbian or gay may face harassment from their commands and fellow servicemembers. It can take the form of rude jokes and name calling, increased scrutiny of the member’s performance or conduct (such as disciplinary action for minor infractions that the command tolerates from other members), orders to accomplish undesirable duties, death threats, and physical assaults by one or more people.
Be prepared to take immediate and aggressive legal move. A strongly-worded letter faxed from a counselor to the commanding officer may provide some protection. In other cases, one or more of the formal complaint procedures, along with outside intervention, may persuade the command to accept action. Equal Opportunity offices will sometimes treat harassment based on perceived sexual orientation as a build of sexual harassment and accept those complaints. The procedures can be lengthy; therefore, assertiveness at the first stages of the complaint process may persuade the command to t