Loading...
The Royal Australian Navy and courts martial for homosexuality
Riseman, Noah
Riseman, Noah
Author
Abstract
Until November 1992 the Australian military had longstanding rules against the presence of lesbian, gay and bisexual (lgb) service members. The policies and practices for dealing with lgb people varied across time and services, but one commonality is that rarely did cases go to court martial and were generally dealt with through administrative and other disciplinary processes. Yet, the rare cases which did go to court martial leave a hitherto overlooked archival trail that provides insight into how the Australian armed forces conceptualised and policed homosexuality within its ranks. This article examines data from courts martial in the Royal Australian Navy (ran), focusing especially on cases from the period after the Second World War. Exploring three case studies, it shows how courts martial were not so much about policing homosexuality, but rather prosecuting unsolicited advances and incidents which breached the unspoken bounds of discretion.
Keywords
gay and lesbian, LGBTIQ, Australia, courts martial, homosexuality
Date
2021
Type
Journal article
Journal
International Journal of Military History and Historiography
Book
Volume
42
Issue
Page Range
46-69
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Arts and Humanities
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as green open access
License
File Access
Open
Controlled
Controlled