‘Can I Be Gay in the Army?’: British Army recruitment advertising to LGBTQ youth in 2017–18 and belonging in the queer military home
Abstract: In 2017, the British Army opened its ‘This is Belonging’ recruitment campaign, aimed at groups of young people who were considered traditionally less likely to join the Army, with marketing at Pride in London aimed at LGBTQ youth. The campaign’s next phase, in 2018, consisted of live-action and animated YouTube videos targeting specific groups including young women, religiously observant youth, emotionally sensitive young men, youth with average fitness levels, and, in the animations, LGBTQ youth again. While every other theme appeared in both sets of videos, the live-action set contained a video depicting homosocial male bonding instead of any LGBTQ theme. The Army’s acknowledgement of LGBTQ identities during recruitment in 2017–18 suggested certain advances from the 2000s position where LGBTQ personnel were expected to keep their sexuality private. A close audiovisual analysis of the LGBTQ-themed video, ‘Can I be Gay in the Army?’, and its intertextual relationship with the other videos nevertheless reveals hesitancy over how to represent a legibly gay male soldier that hints at limits to the institution’s inclusion of sexual difference. Drawing on both ‘LGBT’ and ‘Queer’ scholarship, the paper illustrates how concepts of domesticity and futurity can contribute to critical understandings of LGBTQ military inclusion.
Abstract: Introduction: Persistent inequities exist in obstetric and neonatal outcomes in military families despite universal health care coverage. Though the exact underlying cause has not been identified, social determinants of health may uniquely impact military families. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively investigate the potential impact of social determinants of health and the lived experiences of military individuals seeking maternity care in the Military Health System. Materials and methods: This was an Institutional Review Board-approved protocol. Nine providers conducted 31 semi-structured interviews with individuals who delivered within the last 5 years in the direct or purchased care market. Participants were recruited through social media blasts and clinic flyers with both maximum variation and homogenous sampling to ensure participation of diverse individuals. Data were coded and themes were identified using inductive qualitative research methods. Results: Three main themes were identified: Requirements of Military Life (with subthemes of pregnancy notification and privacy during care, role of pregnancy instructions and policies, and role of command support), Sociocultural Aspects of the Military Experience (with subthemes of pregnancy as a burden on colleagues and a career detractor, postpartum adjustment, balancing personal and professional requirements, pregnancy timing and parenting challenges, and importance of friendship and camaraderie in pregnancy), and Navigating the Healthcare Experience (including subthemes of transfer between military and civilian care and TRICARE challenges, perception of military care as inferior to civilian, and remote duty stations and international care). Conclusions: The unique stressors of military life act synergistically with the existing health care challenges, presenting opportunities for improvements in care. Such opportunities may include increased consistency of policies across services and commands. Increased access to group prenatal care and support groups, and increased assistance with navigating the health care system to improve care transitions were frequently requested changes by participants.