In this Book
- Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War II
- Book
- 2010
- Published by: The University of North Carolina Press
summary
During World War II, as the United States called on its citizens to serve in unprecedented numbers, the presence of gay Americans in the armed forces increasingly conflicted with the expanding antihomosexual policies and procedures of the military. In Coming Out Under Fire, Allan Berube examines in depth and detail these social and political confrontation--not as a story of how the military victimized homosexuals, but as a story of how a dynamic power relationship developed between gay citizens and their government, transforming them both. Drawing on GIs' wartime letters, extensive interviews with gay veterans, and declassified military documents, Berube thoughtfully constructs a startling history of the two wars gay military men and women fough--one for America and another as homosexuals within the military.
Berube's book, the inspiration for the 1995 Peabody Award-winning documentary film of the same name, has become a classic since it was published in 1990, just three years prior to the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which has continued to serve as an uneasy compromise between gays and the military. With a new foreword by historians John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman, this book remains a valuable contribution to the history of World War II, as well as to the ongoing debate regarding the role of gays in the U.S. military.
Berube's book, the inspiration for the 1995 Peabody Award-winning documentary film of the same name, has become a classic since it was published in 1990, just three years prior to the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which has continued to serve as an uneasy compromise between gays and the military. With a new foreword by historians John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman, this book remains a valuable contribution to the history of World War II, as well as to the ongoing debate regarding the role of gays in the U.S. military.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- pp. xv-xix
- Introduction: "Why We Fight"
- pp. 1-7
- 1. Getting In
- pp. 8-33
- 2. Fitting In
- pp. 34-66
- 3. GI Drag: A Gay Refuge
- pp. 67-97
- 5. The Fight for Reform
- pp. 136-156
- 7. Comrades in Arms
- pp. 183-208
- 8. Fighting Another War
- pp. 209-243
- 9. Rights, Justice, and a New Minority
- pp. 244-270
- 10. The Legacy of the War
- pp. 271-296
- A Note on Sources
- pp. 297-304
- Illustration Credits
- pp. 377-378
Additional Information
ISBN
9781469604596
Related ISBN(s)
9780807871775, 9780807899649
MARC Record
OCLC
966859656
Pages
416
Launched on MUSE
2017-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No