The term "sexual orientation" refers to an individual's romantic attraction, behavioral preferences, or self-identification regarding sexual and/or romantic desires toward people of specific biological sexes, genders, or sex characteristics. It can be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual, pansexual, or nonbinary. For many years, military service has been dominated by men who are straight. But recently, more women have joined the armed forces and shown interest in serving alongside their male counterparts.
They face unique challenges due to societal norms that may not fully support identity expression in some environments where soldiers live and work together. This article explores how this affects them during combat training, deployment, and post-deployment adjustment periods.
Combat training is physically and emotionally demanding. Soldiers must learn to rely on each other for survival while also developing close bonds. These bonds often lead to sexual relationships between members of different genders or sexes. While physical intimacy between male and female soldiers is common, it can cause tension when it comes to expressing one's sexuality outside of these relationships. Many female soldiers may feel pressured to act heterosexually even if they identify as something else because of fear of rejection from peers or commanders. This pressure can result in stress and anxiety, which affects performance on missions and overall wellbeing.
In addition to combat training, deployments require soldiers to spend months or even years away from home without access to family or friends. The lack of privacy and social interaction with others makes it difficult for those who do not fit into traditional gender roles to express themselves freely. They may avoid expressing emotional needs or seeking help out of concern for revealing their true selves to colleagues who may not understand them. As a result, they may struggle with loneliness, depression, and isolation.
When soldiers return home, many feel disconnected from civilian life due to the intense experiences they have had in war zones. They may find it challenging to transition back into society due to feelings of guilt or shame about their identity expressions that were suppressed during service. They may also face discrimination based on their sexual orientation from family members or employers who don't accept nontraditional identities. All this leads to further stressors that affect mental health outcomes such as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and depression rates among veterans.
The military has taken steps to support LGBTQ+ soldiers through policies prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity expression within its ranks.
Implementation remains inconsistent across branches of the armed forces, making some troops more likely than others to experience stigma or discrimination when expressing their true selves openly.
These policies do little to address underlying cultural biases towards LGBTQ+ individuals outside of the military environment that can cause additional psychological trauma after returning home.
There is still work to be done in creating a safe space for all soldiers regardless of sexuality or gender identity so that they can fully express themselves without fear or judgment from peers or commanders during training, deployment, post-deployment adjustment periods, and beyond.
How does sexual orientation shape soldiers' experiences in environments that may not fully support identity expression?
The experience of being a soldier comes with several challenges and difficulties that can influence one's mental health and well-being. This is especially true for members of minority groups who have to navigate cultural expectations while serving their country. As such, being a member of the LGBTQ+ community can add an additional layer of stress on top of the already demanding job requirements. Sexual orientation shapes a soldier's experiences as they must balance their personal life with professional obligations.