Don't Ask, Don't Tell was lifted two months ago allowing gay service people to be openly gay if they want to be. I haven't heard any stories about problems perhaps because it'll take some time for people to get comfortable with it and come out. Well, this week the USS Oak Hill came home from 80 days at sea and as is the tradition in the Navy, a lottery was held to see who gets to run down the gangplank and plant the "first kiss" on a loved one. This year a lesbian won the lottery and got to be the first kiss. As always, they were cheered by their fellow servicemen and it was no big deal.
They didn't make a big deal about being lesbians, only that they were happy that they could just be themselves now. I say good for them. They look happy.
Having said that, these were two otherwise attractive women. What would the reception have been had the kiss been shared by a burly male fighter pilot and his male partner? I'm guessing not as warmly. Why is that? Why do we feel threatened as a society when two men kiss, but not so much when it's women? Is it because women are naturally and openly affectionate toward each other anyway? Or more disturbingly, is it because we subconsciously view the role of men as more reflective of ourselves collectively and the role of women less seriously? I don't know.
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