Skyler James resists war, anti-gay harassment
Skylar James
Skyler James, an out lesbian, joined the Army in 2006 at her parents strong urging. After a year of anti-homosexual harassment, and before she was to be deployed, Skylar went AWOL and lived since in Canada. She spoke to Courage to Resist from her home in Ontario.
“Someone ran up behind me, screamed ‘dyke!’ and punched me in the back of the head… I was the only female in the motor pool… They would claim me as one of the guys, but after they found out I was gay they completely turned their back on me…. I was receiving hate letters on my door, threatening to injure me and kill me.”