Let me preface this by saying I'm not a homophobe, never have been, and never will be. I know plenty of gay people who are absolutely wonderful, and I know plenty of gay people who I'd rather not be around. I would say the ratio of good gays to bad gays in my life roughly approximates the ratio of good straights to bad straights. To be honest with you, I couldn't care less about a person's sexual orientation. Maybe being gay is a big part of who you are. Great. I don't care. Maybe being straight is a big part of you you are. Fantastic. Really not interested in your sex life, at all.
With that being said...
On a practical level, I personally didn't have much of a problem with Don't Ask, Don't Tell at the beginning. I just figured that since gays weren't necessarily barred from serving (and believe you me, I have a pretty accurate gaydar and I know damn well I've run across more than a few in my two years in the military) then if a man or a woman was that interested in serving the United States of America in its military, either that desire to serve trumped coming out or it didn't. If you're that patriotic and gung ho about being a soldier, maybe it shouldn't be so difficult to keep your sexuality a little extra private. But after about 30 seconds of considering that, I realized it was complete BS. The philosophical me has a pretty big problem with treating gays like second class citizens, especially if they are willing to fight and die in our nation's military. Why should straight soldiers be able to carry on ad nauseum about their sexual exploits, yet gays are compelled to keep everything about that part of their lives to themselves, or risk being discharged? Being a thinking, reasoning person, I just can't abide it.
So, philosophically I think it's a good thing that gays can now openly serve. What are the practical implications, though?
As with anything, I think it's kind of hard to tell, but here's my best guess:
Most gay people I know aren't all that flamboyant, are very respectful of others' boundaries, and are private about their sex lives. I would say most are pretty much like straight people in this regard (as with just about everything else aside from having sex with partners whose genitalia match their own). There is, however, that gay stereotype that we all know and love, and stereotypes don't just fall out of the sky. I have certainly run across my fair share of absolutely flaming homosexuals.
Most soldiers I know aren't all that macho and brutish, are thinking and reasoning people, and are more or less willing to live and let live. I would say that most are pretty much like civilians in this regard (as with just about everything else aside from having being shot at as part of their job descriptions). There is, however, that soldier stereotype that we all know and love, and stereotypes don't just fall out of the sky. I have certainly run across my fair share of absolutely moronic soldiers.
For a little while, those stereotypical soldiers and those stereotypical gays are going to have a go at each other, and I predict that there will be isolated and tragic incidents. I think it's almost unavoidable, as some gays (probably the ones that most other gays can't stand to be around) will find the temptation to prove all their critics right irresistible, and some soldiers (probably the more bi-curious ones) will find the temptation to prove they're not gay by stomping a queer irresistible. It's obvious who will be in the wrong in these cases (and lord, do I hope I'm wrong about them), but those situations could be avoided if people were smart about things.
In the long run, however, I can't imagine there will be a massive flock of gays hanging around military recruiters' offices, and I suspect that the percentage of gay soldiers in the military will be for all intents and purposes similar to what it was before Don't Ask, Don't Tell ended. This means that if there is a gay soldier in the shower with you now, he was probably there with you before, and it's unlikely he was looking at your junk with any more curiosity than the straight dude on the other side of you then or now, so chill out about it.
Things will shake out, cooler heads will prevail, and in the long run (despite the macho culture), this is going to be a non-issue in the military, and our society as a whole will have taken a quiet, but important, step forward.
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