"Don't Drop the Soap": Organizing Sexualities in the Repeal of the US Military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy

Authors

Craig Rich, Loyola Marymount UniversityFollow
Julie Kalil Schutten, Northern Arizona UniversityFollow
Richard A. Rogers, Northern Arizona UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

Guided by critical, feminist, and queer approaches to organizational communication, this paper critically analyzes the United States military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy and the Department of Defense's (2010) report recommending DADT's repeal. Rather than fostering genuine integration, the repeal report reproduces the conditions that marginalize queer soldiers under DADT, relegating gays and lesbians to the hyper-private (closet) while constructing an asexual veneer for the military organization. Such closeting remains necessary due to the threat that "openly" gay men pose to the image of the soldier as an impenetrable predator. Finally, the recommendation to deny sexual orientation the status of a protected difference, as with sex/gender and race, points to the disruption of heteronormative organization evoked by sexual difference.

Repository Citation

Rich, C. O., Schutten, J. K., & Rogers, R. (2012). ‘Don’t drop the soap’: Organizing sexualities in the repeal of the US Military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. Communication Monographs, 79, 269-291.