Construction of Queer Identitites in the Military

More than almost any other organization, the military is associated with masculinity: for a long time only men were accepted into the armed forces and the image of the soldier was one of a dominant, brave, but also heterosexual man. However, this association is increasingly being questioned. • For one, because gender roles and relations have changed in modern societies, i.e. masculinity has not been strongly associated with being a soldier for a long time. • Secondly, because many armed forces have adjusted to these gender relations (structurally and culturally) and opened up to women and later also to LGBTQ people. This has been aided by several processes, some of them simultaneous: shortages of staff, the need for social and political legitimacy, the increased effectiveness of anti-discrimination legislation and, last but not least, a gradual change of values in the military itself. • Additionally, we can observe a discourse on diversity and the position of soldiers that defy the heterosexual and/or cisgendered norms. Through interviews with members of the Bundeswehr who situate themselves on the LGBTQ spectrum, have come out in the Bundeswehr, and in some cases are transitioning there, we aim to show: ● which social, legal and organizational conditions are thus activated as dispositives and how, ● how the interviewees – faced with these conditions – position themselves not just as an object of discrimination or appreciation, but especially as a subject, ● which identities they develop within these often conflicting conditions, ● and finally, how they attempt to use and influence these dispositives and discourses around (anti-)discrimination