Allan Berube Marching To A Different Drummer Analysis

In Allan Berube’s “Marching To A Different Drummer: Lesbian and Gay GIs In World War II” Berube explains how the war was used as a way for many men and women to come out. During the draft, many people were young and had no prior knowledge of sexuality. Young men and women were raised in households that were based around heterosexual norms. Coming into the war a lone, there is where people actually figured out who they really are and their sexual preference. One’s loneliness caused them to gravitate to the closest person next to them. Since they were away from home, relying on one another was the only way people came to grasp the idea of their homosexuality. People then became attracted to one another, and soon relationships started to form. As Berube mentions, “World War II [was] a turning point in the lives of lesbians and gay Americans”, and people used the war to form their own gay community (384). By forming their own community, people would be able to strengthen their identity since they were a minority in America. …show more content…
Berube describes how the pressure of living in a world devoted to males caused someone to figure out their sexuality as long as the war lasted. He states that “The tension of living in all-male world of the military, the comradeship that came with fighting a common enemy, and the loneliness of being away from home in strange cities looking for companionship all helped to create a kind of ‘gay ambiance’ (386-387). Men did not have any other person to turn to but another man. They relied on one another for emotional support through the time they were part of the war. By spending time with each other constantly, they started to admire the qualities of that person. World War II shaped how gay identity will be seen as the years went on. It allowed gay men and lesbians to find their place in the world, although it came with many negative