Homosexuality and the military: a review of the literature.

Homosexual men and women have been subjected to constant discrimination and stigma while trying to do what most heterosexual individuals take for granted, serving their country. It is somewhat paradoxical that gays and lesbians who are treated as second-class citizens by their own country and government, with limited rights, would want to risk their lives and potentially die for that same country. As the literature illustrates, many homosexual men and women have chosen such a profession in order to justify their existence and demonstrate that they are worthy of the same rights as others. Just as women and African Americans eventually earned their status as equal members of society and proved their worthiness to serve in the military, homosexuals are now trying to achieve the same.