SEXUALITY EDITION
so, while rhodey was rising up the ranks of the military, donāt ask donāt tell (DADT) was very prevalent. for those of you who arenāt american or who havenāt heard of it, donāt ask donāt tell was a policy enacted in 1995 by President Clinton. This policy prohibited people who ādemonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual actsā from serving in the armed forces of the United States, because their presence āwould create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.ā so this means that rhodey, as a bisexual man in my canon, was never allowed to pursue his sexuality.
i headcanon him as coming from a very rigid family. his father was a graduate of the academy, a lieutenant colonel who had high expectations for his son. junior rotc in high school to prepare him for the rigidity of the academy. there was no talk of sexuality in his home because it was very clear that it was expected of rhodey to marry a nice girl and settle down. he was not going to experiment with his sexuality, even when he had feelings for men.
In 1995 Rhodey would be 27 years old. After he graduated from the academy, instead of going to a specialized school for flying, applied for a program to do his masters. he completed his masters in aeronautical engineering from mit. from the age of 27 until age 43, he would be barred from all pride events for fear of being fired and losing his livelihood.
the relief and acceptance that rhodey feels when he finally goes to pride in june of 2013??? ginormous. itās like a weight is lifted off of his shoulders for the first time.
