Gay Army

Last updated
Gay Army
Genre Reality
Developed byDavid Sidebotham
Karsten Bartholin
StarringTony Rosenbum
Country of originDenmark
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersDavid Sidebotham
Karsten Bartholin
Production companyBabyfoot
Release
Original network Kanal 5
Original releaseApril 27, 2006 (2006-04-27)

Gay Army is a Danish [1] comedy reality television series. It centers around nine effeminate gay men put into the hands of a drill sergeant who puts them through military training exercises. The series was first broadcast in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The series has also been sold to Italy, Germany, Canada, Switzerland and Poland, although protests led to the show being cancelled in Poland before it aired. [1]

Contents

Synopsis

In each episode the gay recruits face new training missions featuring stereotypically masculine tasks to prepare them for a mock military operation. Contestants are treated to nights of partying and other rewards if the missions are accomplished.

Reception

LGBT rights activists protested the show's stereotypical premise. A Swedish organization called the 'Homo-, Bi-, and Transsexuals in the Armed Forces' (informally associated with the Swedish Armed Forces) met with the production director to ask the network not to air it. [2] Despite this, the show has been very popular with audiences, and has been nominated for awards at the Rose d'Or as well as the 2006 Danish TV Awards.[ citation needed ] It also caused a small outcry in the media, which was quickly silenced.[ by whom? ]

Related Research Articles

Danish Defence is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark charged with the defence of Denmark and its self-governing territories Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Defence also promote Denmark's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts and provide humanitarian aid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithuanian Armed Forces</span> Armed forces of Lithuania

The Lithuanian Armed Forces are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service becomes part of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. A special security department handles VIP protection and communications security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish Armed Forces</span> Military forces of Sweden

The Swedish Armed Forces is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting international peacekeeping, and providing humanitarian aid. It consists of the Swedish Army, the Swedish Air Force and the Swedish Navy, as well as a military reserve force, the Home Guard. Since 1994, all Swedish military branches are organized within a single unified government agency, headed by the Supreme Commander, even though the individual services maintain their distinct identities.

The Swiss Armed Forces operates on land and in the air, serving as the primary armed forces of Switzerland. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are conscripts or volunteers aged 19 to 34. Because of Switzerland's long history of neutrality, the Swiss Armed Forces do not take part in conflicts in other countries, but do participate in international peacekeeping missions. Switzerland is part of the NATO Partnership for Peace programme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military recruit training</span> Initial indoctrination and instruction given to new military personnel

Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique demands of military employment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Tibbets</span> United States Air Force general (1915–2007)

Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force. He is best known as the aircraft captain who flew the B-29 Superfortress known as the Enola Gay when it dropped a Little Boy, the first of two atomic bombs used in warfare, on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military police</span> Police organization part of the military of a state

Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear reconnaissance, logistic traffic management, counterinsurgency, and detainee handling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish Army</span> Land branch of the Swedish Armed Forces

The Swedish Army is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwegian Army</span> Land warfare branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces

The Norwegian Army is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway in 1628. The Army participated in various continental wars during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries as well, both in Norway and abroad, especially in World War II (1939–1945). It constitutes part of the Norwegian military contribution as a charter member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polish Land Forces</span> Ground warfare branch of Polands military forces

The Land Forces are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stretches back a millennium – since the 10th century. Poland's modern army was formed after Poland regained independence following World War I in 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio National Guard</span> Militia of the U.S. state of Ohio

The Ohio National Guard comprises the Ohio Army National Guard and the Ohio Air National Guard. The commander-in-chief of the Ohio Army National Guard is the governor of the U.S. state of Ohio. If the Ohio Army National Guard is called to federal service, then the President of the United States becomes the commander-in-chief. The military commander of all forces in the State of Ohio is the Adjutant General, Major General John C. Harris, Jr. is responsible for the command of 17,000 members, preparedness and readiness, installation management, and budget of the Ohio National Guard. The current Assistant Adjutant General for Army, with responsibility for overseeing the Ohio Army National Guard training and operations, is Brigadier General Thomas E. Moore II. The current Assistant Adjutant General for Air is Major General James R. Camp with responsibility for overseeing the Ohio Air National Guard.

Foreign support in the Winter War consisted of materiel, men and moral support to the Finnish struggle against the Soviet Union in the Winter War. World opinion at large supported the Finnish cause. The Second World War had not yet begun in earnest and was known to the public as the Phoney War; at that time, the Winter War saw the only real fighting in Europe besides the German and Soviet invasion of Poland, and thus held major world interest. The Soviet aggression was generally deemed unjustified. Various foreign organizations sent material aid, such as medical supplies. Finnish immigrants in the United States and Canada returned home, and many volunteers traveled to Finland to join Finland's forces: 8,700 Swedes, 1,010 Danes, about 1,000 Estonians, 850 Ukrainians, 725 Norwegians, 372 Ingrians, 366 Hungarians, 346 Finnish expatriates, more than 20 Latvians and 190 volunteers of other nationalities made it to Finland before the war was over.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in the military in Europe</span>

European countries have had varying policies that confine women and military service or the extent of their participation in the national armed services of their respective countries, especially combatant roles in armed conflicts or hostile environments. While most of the countries have always allowed women to participate in military activities involving no direct aggression with the enemy, most began seeing the value of servicewomen in the armed services during the First World War when they began losing unprecedented numbers of servicemen. In the modern era, many of the European countries allow women to voluntarily pursue a career path or profession in the national armed services of their country as well as permit conscription equality, with minimal or no restrictions at all.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polish Navy</span> Military unit

The Polish Navy is the naval branch of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish Navy consists of 46 ships and about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel. The traditional ship prefix in the Polish Navy is ORP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polish Armed Forces</span> Combined military forces of Poland

The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland are the national armed forces of the Republic of Poland. The name has been used since the early 19th century, but can also be applied to earlier periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Unifier</span> Canadian Armed Forces operation in Ukraine

Operation UNIFIER is the Canadian Armed Forces mission to bolster the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the provision of critical military training. It was stood up in response to requests from the Government of Ukraine in light of fomentation by separatist sentiments in the Donetsk and Luhansk and Crimean regions of Ukraine after the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine. Up until the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the training mission took place in Ukraine through a Multinational Joint Commission which included Canada, Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Since August 2022, the Canadian military has been working alongside the British Ministry of Defence in England to deliver training to Ukrainian recruits under Operation Interflex.

This overview shows the regulations regarding military service of non-heterosexuals around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulger Battalion</span> Special forces unit in Moldova

The Independent Special Forces Battalion "Fulger" is a military unit of the Land Forces of the Moldovan National Army, based in Chisinau.

References

  1. 1 2 "'Gay Army' TV Series Axed in Poland Before Being Screened". Archived from the original on 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  2. Rautiainen, Riina "Portraying Gays on Reality TV: Case Gay Army and Its Reception", http://www.helsinki.fi/jarj/sqs/sqs1_08/sqs12008rautiainen.pdf