New York Strip Clubs: Resisting Homophobia in the Military
After a transfer to Hawaii, Smith found a simpler method of disguising his orientation. “I had a boyfriend in town, and his brother’s wife pretended to be my girlfriend, and we went to the Marine Corps ball together. She was a really attractive Asian woman, and it drew attention … People would ask us questions, and we improvised elaborate stories about what we were doing. My story was that I had this girlfriend out of town … when in reality I lived off base and was regularly seeing my boyfriend about a half-hour away.”
While on base, Smith still found it necessary to maintain a facade of being “normal” by doing things like leaving copies of Hustler magazine lying around.
“I would tell people I was going to stripper clubs on the weekends … constant lies. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell forces you to lie. It’s not just about being gay, but who you are spending time with, who y …