OutServe Magazine

Last updated
OutServe Magazine
Editor-in-ChiefAngelina Leger
Former editorsLiza Swart (March 2013-May 2013); David Small (July 2012-Feb 2013); Jonathan Mills (March 2011-June 2012)

EDITORIAL BOARD: Jonathan Mills, Edward A. Sweeney, Nathaniel Frank, Brenda Sue Fulton, Zeke Stokes, Todd Burton, Marissa Skidmore
Staff writersEdward A. Sweeney, Chief Columnist; Angelina Leger, Operations and Art Director; William Burton, Distribution Director; Bobat Camacho, Social Media Director; Liza Swart, Asst. Editor; Aaron Testa, Online Editor; Eric Minton, Copy Editor; Jeremy Johnson, Blog Editor; Katie Miller, Columnist; Neal Simpson, Columnist; Brynn Tannehill, Columnist; Kody Parsons, Columnist; Joshua Ladner, Style Columnist
PhotographerSamuel Morse; David Small
FrequencyBi-monthly
Circulation 250,000
Publisher OutServe-SLDN
FounderJonathan Mills and Edward Sweeney
First issueMarch 2011
Final issueJune 2013
Company OutServe
CountryUnited States
Based inWashington, D.C.
LanguageEnglish
Website www.outservemag.org
ISSN 2161-3370
OCLC 722418968

OutServe Magazine was a bi-monthly digital and print publication of OutServe, a non-profit, non-government organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender service members in the United States Armed Forces. It was co-founded by Air Force Staff Sgt. Jonathan Mills and Capt. Eddy Sweeney, and first published in March 2011, while OutServe was still operating clandestinely prior to the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that banned open gays from service. The Magazine garnered over a quarter of a million views for its most popular issues. [1] The publication was distributed free of charge on military bases, and was available to the public for downloading and redistribution through its website and mobile apps. It published 13 issues over 2 years, employing more than 30 volunteer staff, and was the first gay rights magazine to be approved for distribution on military bases. [2]

Contents

History

In February 2011, OutServe, Inc. launched an initiative for a newsletter that would inform LGBT service members of the fast-growing support network that was available to them, as well as inform readers on the status of DADT and other LGBT-related policies. Jonathan Mills and Eddy Sweeney expanded on this idea and created a bi-monthly magazine that sought to publish relevant information in a pre-DADT repeal environment, inform LGBT service members of various resources available to them, provide a voice for LGBT stakeholders in the military, and begin to normalize open service by introducing the Armed Services to the gay military professional. [3]

The first electronic-only issue of the Magazine, distributed in March 2011 to OutServe network members, as well as released to the press, had over 10,000 impressions within the first 48 hours, and was met with an overwhelming show of support from the public, the Department of Defense, and the Obama Administration. News organizations such as MSNBC , CNN, [4] ABC, [5] Der Spiegel, Stars and Stripes , and Military Times [6] reached out to cover the launch. Writers and staff were originally attributed by pseudonyms in order to operate within the confines of DADT. In the months after, the bi-monthly publication shifted its focus from a pre-repeal environment to a post-repeal one, and the September 2011 Repeal Edition had a quarter of a million views. [7] This issue featured, for the first time in any publication, the faces of 101 actively serving LGBT military professionals.

The Magazine featured LGBT multimedia essays by artists such as JoAnn Santangelo and Jeff Sheng, published the first public interview with Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen after his retirement (the most senior military leader charged with implementation of DADT repeal), was cited regularly by major news outlets, and partnered with more than 15 advertisers, including CIA, Barefoot Wine, Rhino Africa, MetLife, Amazon, Absolut, Miller Lite, VisitPhilly, Wells Fargo, Human Right Campaign, and Orbitz. From its launch in 2011 to its one-year anniversary in March 2012, OutServe Magazine expanded its staff from 3 to more than 30 volunteers, added a new OutServe Blog, released Android, Windows Phone, and Apple mobile apps, and expanded print and web distribution from 10,000 readers in the first month to over a quarter of a million views in 2013. [8]

OutServe Magazine published its final issue in June 2013, under the direction of its final Editor-in-Chief Angelina Leger, one month before OutServe-SLDN's reorganization and the accompanying resignation of several of its leaders. [9]

Archived issues can accessed at MagCloud.

Repeal Edition

In September 2011, its third edition, the "Repeal Edition", revealed the identity of OutServe Co-director JD Smithas a U.S. Air Force active-duty lieutenant. The "Repeal Edition" featured 101 service members coming out to the public for the first time. It was also the first edition approved for distribution in print to military installations. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't ask, don't tell</span> 1994–2011 policy on LGBT in the US military

"Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people. Instituted during the Clinton administration, the policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December 21, 1993, and was in effect from February 28, 1994, until September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service. This relaxation of legal restrictions on service by gays and lesbians in the armed forces was mandated by Public Law 103–160, which was signed November 30, 1993. The policy prohibited people who "demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving in the armed forces of the United States, because their presence "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability".

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) personnel are able to serve in the armed forces of some countries around the world: the vast majority of industrialized, Western countries including some South American countries such as Argentina and Chile in addition to South Africa, and Israel. The rights concerning intersex people are more vague.

Darren Manzella was a United States Army Sergeant, Army medic and gay activist from Portland, New York, who was discharged under the Don't ask, don't tell policy. Manzella served in Iraq and Kuwait, and was stationed in Fort Hood, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan G. Rogers</span> United States Army officer

Alan Greg Rogers was an ordained pastor, a U.S. Army major and intelligence officer, a civil rights activist in the gay, lesbian and bisexual military community and the first-known gay combat fatality of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The subsequent coverage of his death in the media sparked a debate over the effect of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy and what information should be included in the biography of a gay military person killed in action.

The United States Navy dog handler hazing scandal was a pattern of misconduct engaged in by members of the United States Navy at Naval Support Activity Bahrain between 2004 and 2006. Naval investigators documented nearly 100 incidents of abuse committed against several members of a Military Working Dog (MWD) unit stationed at the United States military base at Juffair. Documented incidents of abuse include racial intimidation, sexual harassment, physical abuse and anti-gay harassment. One sailor, Master-At-Arms 3rd Class Joseph Rocha, suffered post-traumatic stress disorder because of his abuse at the hands of fellow sailors, and he alleges that another sailor committed suicide because of her treatment. The Navy investigated the allegations in 2007 and documented the abuse, but took little substantive action. However, Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak, a former Vice Admiral, demanded a new examination of the report's findings which led to the disciplining of Rocha's former superior, Chief Petty Officer Michael Toussaint. The scandal came to widespread public attention as United States President Barack Obama faced increased pressure to repeal the military's gay-exclusionary policy known as "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knights Out</span>

Knights Out is an organization of West Point alumni, staff and faculty who support the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people to serve openly in the U.S. military and who wish to educate young officers about the issues and contributions of LGBT troops. The group's name is in reference to the Army Black Knights, West Point's athletic mascot.

The United States military formerly excluded gay men, bisexuals, and lesbians from service. In 1993, the United States Congress passed, and President Bill Clinton signed, a law instituting the policy commonly referred to as "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT), which allowed gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to serve as long as they did not reveal their sexual orientation. Although there were isolated instances in which service personnel were met with limited success through lawsuits, efforts to end the ban on openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual people serving either legislatively or through the courts initially proved unsuccessful.

<i>Log Cabin Republicans v. United States</i> Federal lawsuit

Log Cabin Republicans v. United States, 658 F.3d 1162 was a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of 10 U.S.C. § 654, commonly known as don't ask, don't tell (DADT), which, prior to its repeal, excluded homosexuals from openly serving in the United States military. The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR), an organization composed of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Republicans, brought the suit on behalf of LCR members who serve or served in the military and were subject to DADT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010</span> 2011 US federal law allowing LGBT people to openly serve in the military

The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 is a landmark United States federal statute enacted in December 2010 that established a process for ending the "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy, thus allowing gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to serve openly in the United States Armed Forces. It ended the policy in place since 1993 that allowed them to serve only if they kept their sexual orientation secret and the military did not learn of their sexual orientation, which was controversial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OutServe-SLDN</span> Non-profit organisation in the USA

OutServe-SLDN was a network of LGBT military personnel, formed as a result of the merger between OutServe and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. OutServe-SLDN was one of the largest LGBT employee resource groups in the world. OutServe was founded by a 2009 graduate of the US Air Force Academy, Josh Seefried and Ty Walrod. There were over 7,000 members and 80 chapters worldwide.

Josh Seefried is an LGBT rights activist, a former captain in the United States Air Force, and a former co-chairman on the Board of Directors of OutServe-SLDN, an association of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the U.S. Military. A graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2009, Josh was formerly known by his pseudonym JD Smith during his campaign to end the discrimination against lesbians, gays and bisexuals serving openly in the United States military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoe Dunning</span> U.S. Naval Academy graduate

Maria Zoe Dunning is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and gay rights activist. She is known for being the only openly gay person remaining on active duty in the U.S. military after coming out. She was involved in a series of lawsuits against the U.S. military and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy during the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jase Daniels</span> United States Navy linguist

Jase Daniels is a United States Navy linguist who was discharged from the military twice under the policy known as "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT). Daniels served from 2001 to 2005 and again from 2006 to 2007. After coming out in Stars and Stripes, a newspaper published under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Defense, Daniels challenged the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that forbade gay and lesbian service members from serving openly. His case attracted attention in such major U.S. media outlets as Newsweek and the New York Times. Daniels returned to active duty in the United States Navy on December 12, 2011, and is believed to be one of the first servicemembers, and perhaps the first, to return to active duty following the end of restrictions on service by openly gay and lesbian servicemembers in the U.S. Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Veterans for Equal Rights</span> American LGBT veteran service organization

American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER) is the oldest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Veterans Service Organization (VSO) in the United States. Founded in 1990, AVER is a non-profit VSO that supports and advocates for the rights of LGBT military veterans, active duty service members, and their families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Phillips (airman)</span> American activist

Randy Phillips is an airman of the United States Air Force whose coming out in September 2011 following the repeal of the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy (DADT) garnered media attention. DADT had banned the service of openly gay members in the United States Armed Forces and Phillips used YouTube, under the alias "AreYouSuprised", to anonymously seek support and to document his life under the policy over several months. His videos included his coming out to his father and mother, which coincided with Phillips showing his face for the first time, and the accidental discovery of his anonymous web presence by his co-workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States military chaplains</span>

United States military chaplains hold positions in the armed forces of the United States and are charged with conducting religious services and providing counseling for their adherents. As of 2011, there are about 2,900 chaplains in the Army, among the active duty, reserve, and National Guard components.

Joan Darrah is an activist for LGBT rights, specifically the end of the "don't ask don't tell" (DADT) policy, which prohibited gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members from being open about their sexual orientation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allyson Robinson</span> American activist

Allyson Dylan Robinson is an American human rights activist, specializing in LGBT rights in the United States. She attended West Point before gender reassignment, graduated in 1994 majoring in her undergraduate degree in physics, and was then commissioned as an officer serving in the U.S. Army until 1999. She held the rank of captain. Also prior to transition, she became an ordained Baptist minister, earning from the Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, a Master of Divinity (M.Div.).

The American Military Partner Association (AMPA) was a non-profit organization for the partners, spouses, and families of America's LGBT service members and veterans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brenda Sue Fulton</span> American government official and former military officer

Brenda S. "Sue" Fulton is a former American government official and former military officer who has served as the assistant secretary of veterans affairs for public and intergovernmental affairs in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. She commissioned in the United States Army as a signal officer, serving as both a platoon leader and company commander in Germany before receiving an honorable discharge at the rank of captain.

References

  1. Lubischer, Alex. "WINDY CITY TIMES OutServe onward: LGBT military group gains ground". Windy City Times. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  2. O'Keefe, Ed. "Gay military magazine to be distributed at Army, Air Force bases". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  3. Cheney, Catherine. "End of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell': Gay US Soldiers Come Out in New Magazine". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  4. "Magazine launch for gay military members announced". CNN. March 28, 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  5. Bradley Blackburn (March 28, 2011). "OutServe Magazine Launched for Active-Duty Gay and Lesbian Troops". ABC News. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  6. Brian Witte, The Associated Press (28 March 2011). "Military gay support group launches magazine". Military Times. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  7. "OutServe Magazine: About Us". OutServe Magazine. January 1, 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  8. Lubischer, Alex. "WINDY CITY TIMES OutServe onward: LGBT military group gains ground". Windy City Times. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  9. Aravosis, John (July 12, 2013). "OutServe-SLDN closes headquarters, reveals organization is bankrupt". Americablog. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  10. Ed O'Keefe (30 August 2011). "Gay military magazine to be distributed at Army, Air Force bases". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 September 2012.