Gays in the Military - Interviews, 2010-2012

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From 2009 to 2013, Vince Cianni interviewed gay men and women in the U.S. military, inviting them to recount their experiences of discrimination and acceptance in the military and after their service. These recordings are almost all with men. They are associated with Cianni's documentary book, Gays in the Military (2014). Transcriptions for portions of the interviews can be found in the "Interviews" section of the book.

Digital audio WAV files taken from the original minidiscs are available for use. The original media are closed to use.

From the artist's statement: "Prompted by a November 2009 interview of Pvt. Nathanael Bodon's mother, who described her son's discharge from the Army while serving in Iraq as an 'outing' by a fellow soldier in his platoon, I was moved to explore how many lives have been affected as a result of homophobia in the military. The real issues, as organizations such as the Human Rights Commission state, follow a long history of human rights abuses that gay and lesbian people have experienced. Harassment and discrimination based on sexual preference resulted in lost careers and personal lives. In many cases, these men and women – highly skilled, well educated, patriotic, courageous and productive – attained high rank, received numerous medals and held top-level jobs that were essential to the military."

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