Lesbians in the WAAC found each other quickly and developed relationships and communities with each other (1). One lesbian GI, Pat Bond, described how the dating culture functioned at camp as follows, “Everybody was going with someone, or had a crush on somebody or was getting ready to go with someone" (1) Before joining the WAAC, few women were given social spaces to pursue relationships, especially lesbian ones (3). The WAAC created a strong social community through weekend trips to cities, common room activities, and dining halls (1). Women were constantly socialized only with other women, letting lesbian relationships start and grow. Another lesbian GI named Johnnie Phelps described the high quantity of lesbians in the WAAC as follows, “There were almost 900 women in that battalion. I could honestly say 95 percent of them were lesbians" (5). The living, dining, and working conditions women experienced while enlisted in the WAAC gave out lesbians the ability to find partners and gave questioning women the chance to explore their sexuality because of the constant socialization. Joining the WAAC was also a gender-affirming and identity-affirming experience for lesbians and gender-queer people because of the type of work they were able to pursue and the uniform they had Before the war, women could only serve as nurses in the military and had very limited jobs opportunities in society (1). The WAAC allowed women to do jobs that were considered much less feminine, like becoming pilots (7). For some lesbians, this was a very gender-affirming opportunity because they were finally given the chance to work outside of the strict, gendered expectations that had been placed on them. Johnnie Phelps described the manner in which they were trained, “...but the guys who trained us did not allow for the fact that we were PAGE 15 VOL. 2, NO. 1 ZEITGEIST organizations, effectively serving as a coming-out experience. The blue discharges that many LGBTQ veterans also received effectively caused veterans to recognize themselves as a targeted minority and fight against discrimination publically. Before World War II, many LGBTQ youth in America lived in sheltered, small communities that did not generally encourage the pursuit of relationships that were not heterosexual (3). LGBTQ people were never given the support to come out and live as themselves. There was minimal media to acknowledge them and no leaders or organizations to support them, and oftentimes because of this, LGBTQ people didn’t know anybody else that was like them (1). They lived lives in which they were never able to understand their sexuality because of a lack of support from society. They often felt alone, confused, and ashamed of who they were (1). One gay GI, named Chuck, described his motivation to leave his hometown as follows, “I was 17, my home life wasn’t that happy, and it was wartime- a way out for me. That’s really why I went in the first place, as an enlisted soldier” (5) For many young people who were unsure of their identities and knew they wouldn’t be able to find the support they needed at home, enlisting in the military provided an opportunity to get out. The promise of new people and potential community away from the strict rules of their hometowns. The women-only environment of the newly established WAAC offered lesbian women the ability to pursue lesbian relationships and overcome isolation by finding community. The WAAC was established to enlist women soldiers in combat positions for the first time in American history (1). Lesbians in the WAAC found each other quickly and
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