Nathaniel Frank: Refuting the Latest Arguments Against Gay Troops:
"Below is a point-by-point refutation of Bowman's article, which is marred by errors and assumptions that do not serve to forward the debate over service by open gays and lesbians. You can also listen to a debate between me and Bowman on NPR. To summarize my critique: Bowman's argument is a theory, not based on any evidence, that relies on several assumptions: that what motivates 18-year-olds in 21st-century America to fight wars is a particular conception of honor; that that honor is defined by having an exclusively male, heterosexual identity; and by the further belief that a straight man's honor relies on not having gay peers. This is a conception of honor which harks back to the pre-WWI era and which even Bowman acknowledges was rejected by American culture following that era and has not been revived since, despite the best efforts of social and military conservatives."
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