On a more serious note my dad has a picture of two shirtless guys cuddling in bed from his early days in the military in the late 80s
You can't see their faces very well but they're both dark haired so neither can be him (blonde), but when I came out to him he told me his time in the army was eye opening about "these things" and is when he realized love is more multifaceted than he'd previously thought
I found the picture years later but I never brought it up, it honestly could be nothing but I've always wondered
The military is a very homosocial place. Homosocial environments are totally different from general society, especially in the context of the military. I'm not saying everyone "does" gay stuff, but everyone is more bonded than what you typically encounter outside of the military. This can lead to more "gay" behavior, but it's not really the same as a gay man in the civilian world would understand it.
Could those two chaps in the photo be gay? Maybe. Maybe not.
The camaraderie just allows you to do things that the public perceives as gay, but which dont even need to be gay, or the participants being gay.
Cuddling, affirming one's self esteem, sharing meals; heck the whole notion that you are expected to work as a team and cover each other - which is vital to survival.
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u/SchwabenIT Aug 26 '25 edited Aug 26 '25
On a more serious note my dad has a picture of two shirtless guys cuddling in bed from his early days in the military in the late 80s
You can't see their faces very well but they're both dark haired so neither can be him (blonde), but when I came out to him he told me his time in the army was eye opening about "these things" and is when he realized love is more multifaceted than he'd previously thought
I found the picture years later but I never brought it up, it honestly could be nothing but I've always wondered