of policies of exclusion by Congressman Gerry
Studds under the Freedom of Information Act,
whose results (published in 1990 prior to the
Clinton campaign) exposed the texts and accompa-
nying memoranda relating to a suppressed study
commissioned by the Department of Defense in
1988 that concluded that sexuality was unrelated to
job performance, recommending serious revision
or abandonment of then-current protocols. The
sharp debate over the presence of gay, lesbian, and
bisexual individuals ignited by the “don’t ask, don’t
tell” policy continued and intensified throughout
the 1990’s and into the opening years of the twenty-
first century without reaching a consensus for
change within the United States population or legal
system.
Further Reading
Belkin, Aaron, and Geoffrey Bateman.Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell: Debating the Gay Ban in the Militar y.Boul-
der, Colo.: Lynne Rienner, 2003. Based on a 2000
conference reviewing the efficacy of military ex-
clusion, with the topics of privacy, unit cohesion,
and the comparable experience of foreign mili-
taries receiving discussion.
Cammermeyer, Margarethe.Serving in Silence.New
York: Viking Press, 1994. A personal account by
the highest-ranking officer ever to be discharged
from the U.S. military for homosexuality, who
fought for and successfully won retention in the
military.
Dyer, Kate.Gays in Uniform: The Pentagon’s Secret
Reports.Boston: Alyson Publications, 1990. Full
text of a 1988 report on sexual orientation
and suitability for military service commissioned
by the Department of Defense and later sup-
pressed.
Herek, Gregory M., Jared B. Jobe, and Ralph M. Car-
ney.Out In Force: Sexual Orientation and the Militar y.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. A col-
lection of papers based on a workshop held in
1994 during the American Psychological Associa-
tion conference. Among the topics addressed
are the psychological dynamics of successfully
integrating gays and lesbians into the armed
forces.
Humphrey, Mary Ann.My Countr y, My Right to Serve:
Experiences of Gay Men and Women in the Militar y,
World War II to the Present.New York: Harper-
Collins, 1990. A general historical treatment of
the roles and limits placed on lesbians and gays
during the mid-twentieth century. A useful com-
plement to Allan Bérubé’s work on World War II,
Coming Out Under Fire(1990).
Kennedy, James E.About Face: A Gay Officer’s Account
of How He Stopped Prosecuting Gays in the Army and
Started Fighting for Their Rights.New York: Carol,- An inside look at the workings of the mili-
tary justice system by a lawyer in the Judge Advo-
cate General’s office who later advised the
Clinton administration.
Rimmerman, Craig A., ed.Gay Rights, Militar y Wrongs:
Political Perspectives on Lesbians and Gays in the Mili-
tar y.New York: Garland, 1996. A collection of es-
says analyzing the effectiveness of the Clinton ad-
ministration’s policies, including a review of the
first year of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
Shawver, Lois.And the Flag Was Still There: Straight Peo-
ple, Gay People, and Sexuality in the U.S. Militar y.
New York: Haworth Press, 1995. Written by a clini-
cal psychologist who served as a consultant to the
Canadian government in its review (and subse-
quent lifting) of a ban on homosexuals in its mili-
tary, this work clearly dissects the basic psycholog-
ical views of homosexuality in serving personnel.
Personal accounts are used to illustrate entrap-
ment tactics and consequences, and Shawver ex-
plores the question of whether the military estab-
lishment can change.
Shilts, Randy.Conduct Unbecoming: Lesbians and Gays
in the U.S. Militar y—Vietnam to the Persian Gulf.
New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1993. Readable and
comprehensive account of the position of gays
and lesbians in the military during the later de-
cades of the twentieth century.
Steffan, Joseph.Honor Bound: A Gay American Fights
for the Right to Serve His Countr y.New York: Villard
Books, 1992. Personal account of a midshipman
who was removed from Annapolis on the basis of
sexual orientation.
Robert B. Ridinger
See also Cammermeyer, Margarethe; Clinton,
Bill; Homosexuality and gay rights.266 Don’t ask, don’t tell The Nineties in America