Towards an Understanding of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Through Queer Assimilationism

Abstract

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy marks an important moment in the history of queer rights in the United States of America—while outwardly ending the military’s ban on Queer servicemembers, the protections this policy offers hinges on any given servicemember’s willingness to conceal their queer identity. Historical research on the American queer rights movement contextualizes this era of policy within a broader move away from the radicalism of its past and towards demands of queer into inclusion into previously exclusive facets of American life. This presents space for analysis into how and why this rhetorical shift occurs, and consequently with what effectiveness this shift presents to the demands expressed by the American queer rights movement. Utilizing Michel Foucault’s conception of interest, this paper argues for an understanding of DADT through the interest generating potential of this rhetorical shift that makes possible the aims of DADT. Through widespread adoption of strategies aimed at aligning queer identities with heteronormative ideals, the American queer rights movement defines ‘the right to fight’ as an addressable issue, and thus makes possible a policy which acts upon this issue. This stresses the importance of interest theory in the analysis of the American queer rights movement, and thus contributes to an understanding of how social movements affect change.