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I've been in the military going on 15 years and I agree 100% that Gays, Lesbians, Bi-sexuals, and Transgenders (GLBTs) should be able to serve in the United States Armed Forces, but Huston; we have a problem…a problem that no one seems to be thinking about. Well, maybe they are, but I’m going to address it here anyway.

Ok, so “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” goes away. Now what? Can GLBTs show up at their local recruiting station, sign up, and leave for basic training? I don’t see why not, but what happens when they get to basic training? Having gone through basic training myself, I’d imagine that no one would find out for a few days because everyone’s still in shock and talking about much more important things than one’s sexuality…like how not to get screamed at. Eventually, the topic is bound to come up. So what happens when it does? It actually scares me to imagine what might happen to a openly homo/bi sexual male in the presence of 49 other males. As intolerant and ignorant our society is, I’d guess that this 18 year old kid would be nearly beaten to death or given “blanket parties” on a regular basis.

The beatings would most likely come from those with a very strong religious background. I don’t need to mention what religious background; you can figure that out on your own. I strongly believe that the reason why our society is so much against GLBTs is due to this religious upbringing. I was raised in a very conservative town (or State for that matter) and although I’m sure there may have been some GLBTs around me growing up, I sure didn’t know it; and if I would’ve known it, I would’ve had nothing to do with them. I probably would have even called them names behind their backs. I’m not associated with the beliefs that made me think that way anymore and thanks to the military, I was able to leave my home town and open my mind to the rest of the world. You see, my religion that I grew up with preached against homosexuality and being that the USA is made up of a very large percent of people who follow that religion that I followed as a child and into early adulthood, I’d guess that most of those people are against homosexuality as well. This is and will continue to be a tremendous road block for GLBTs. Now that I know better, I don’t see why it should matter to anyone what other people are doing in their bedrooms or who’s marrying who, but I know from experience that it most certainly does matter; and it matters to a great deal of people. So what’s the big deal anyway?

This may sound ridiculous to some and may mean everything to others, but the # 1 problem with allowing GLBTs to openly serve in the military all comes down to dorm living, community restrooms, and community showers. I'm sure GLBT men and/or women would be the first ones to tell you that they're not interested in every male or female they come across (naked or clothed), but forcing (which is how it would be in the military) GLBTs and Straights to live and/or shower together just can’t happen…not overnight anyway and especially not here in the United States of America where nudity is so taboo. Why can’t we stick homosexuals in with Straights?

First of all, there’s the religion aspect, which could be argued against…especially during basic training. Your religion may call you to remove your shoes, face east, bow, and pray at certain times of the day, but that isn’t going to happen during basic. You can do all that on Sunday, but forget it during the training day.

Second, some people would just feel uncomfortable or offended being forced to live and/or shower with GLBTs. I don’t say “and the other way around” because I don’t believe that GLBTs would have problems with living and/or showering with others. I strongly believe that our fear of each other and each other’s bodies can be directly traced back to our culture, which has been shaped by the majority religion here in the USA. That’s not a bash on a particular religion, that’s just the way it is.

Many say that men and women are attracted to each other naturally and that’s the only way it should be. Male and female parts fit together and they can make babies. I can see that argument…but I don’t support it as a reason why GLBTs shouldn’t be given the same rights. Also, if men and women are naturally meant to be together, then why separate them? Why keep them apart by putting them in different showers and restrooms? As human beings, do we not have the control over ourselves to not rape a member of the opposite sex that we’re in the same room with naked? I’ve been to a clothing optional hot spring before and after baring all, I felt more comfortable in my skin than ever before. The people there gave me the impression that they felt the same way. They had no shame about them. I felt more shame while I still had my clothes on amongst everyone else who was naked already than I did once I lost my clothes. These people who are accustomed to this lifestyle were the most honest people you’ll ever meet. There’s something to be said about being comfortable naked in front of strangers and having absolutely no sexual desires for them. I believe that baring it all in front of others does something to your mind. It makes you a more confident and stronger person. I felt completely comfortable the entire time. They weren’t staring at each other or making anyone feel uncomfortable or unwelcome either from what I could gather. We all look weird and funny, so what? Look weird and funny together.

This is the mentality that we as a nation will have to adopt before GLBTs and Straights will ever coexist in living and/or shower situations. For example, you cannot expect men who are openly attracted to men to shower together without allowing men who are attracted to women shower together as well. Again, as I mentioned above; I know that not all homosexual men / women are attracted to every guy or gal that they may encounter in the shower, but the same can be said for straight men and women not being attracted to each other in the shower as well.

This is the logistical issue that we have. As much as I support GLBTs in the military, I just don’t see how we can make it happen. Should we build separate shower facilities for the homosexual men and the homosexual women? Then again, you’d have showers filled with people who are attracted to each other, so that’s not the solution. There’s really no easy way to put this, but allowing GLBTs to openly serve in the military just won’t work until the people in this country can get over being naked in front of each other. Then the answer is easy. We all live and/or shower together. This isn’t something new either. Some countries practice this now and others may have separate facilities, but they’re much more comfortable with the opposite sex that being nude in front of the other isn’t such as big deal. So until there’s a major shift in our culture, I don’t see this ever happening. So how do we fix it?

It’s not going to happen overnight, but I believe that if we made certain areas of our beaches clothing optional; people would slowly but surely begin to go and become more comfortable with each other and their own bodies. Parents could take their kids and after a generation or two, those generations would think nothing of being naked in front of the opposite sex in the shower at basic training or anywhere for that matter. I also think that being comfortable nude in front of others would tear down walls of discrimination. There are many myths and legends about Gods and/or Goddesses having to strip all of their worldly possessions as they move closer and closer to enlightenment, a spiritual experience, etc…

“What about the pedophiles? They’ll be at the beaches looking at my kids.” Look, pedophiles are out there and your child doesn’t have to be naked for them to get their rocks off. I’ve seen what some of you parents let your kids wear out in public and to the beaches anyway. Removing the dental floss isn’t going to make that bid a difference. Education and situational awareness would be the key here.

I know this may all have sounded crazy, but there’s no other way that this will work. You can force it to happen, but as mentioned above; bad things will happen to good people if GLBTs openly walk into basic training before our culture is ready. And I know we live in a “fast food” society where we want everything and we want it now, but this is not going to be solved overnight. This is going to take years and maybe even decades.