Friday, February 5, 2010

Openly Gay

There appears to be a shift in how the military will be viewing gay people.  It may be that instead of the "don't ask, don't tell" rule, the military will no longer reject or punish those who are openly gay.  This is progress, but it raises a question.  What is "openly gay"?

As far as I understand it, being openly gay means not hiding the fact that you're gay.  At least, that's a reasonable guess.  So OK, gay people in the military may no longer need to hide it.  When does this ever become an issue, though?

I suppose you could say that I'm "openly straight", since I don't try to hide my orientation.  But the topic of my orientation almost never comes up.  When I meet a new person, I don't explain that I am straight.  When I start a new job or move into a new apartment, I don't announce my orientation.  If I were to join the army, I doubt they'd ask me whether I was gay.  So where does this "openly" stuff ever apply?

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