The Slovenian Armed Forces Faces the Challenge of Inclusion of Their Homosexual Members

Abstract

ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to highlight the issue of the inclusiveness of lesbian and gay man members in the Slovenian Armed Forces. Based on focused structured interviews, we studied both the social (perception of lesbians) and institutional aspect (perception of the Slovenian Armed Forces). The findings suggest that more attention should be paid to this issue and it should be explored from other methodological perspectives, which would help the Slovenian Armed Forces to follow the patterns of change in Slovenian society in order to maintain its legitimacy and an inclusive working environment also for social groups with different sexual orientation. The research concerns a sensitive and still mostly hidden topic of the Slovenian Armed Forces, which is not much talked about. The article brings the first military sociological research on the inclusion of lesbian and gay man members in the Slovenian Armed Forces.