Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Perry Watkins
Perry Watkins was an out gay Black man and American military officer. He was unapologetic about who he was for his entire life and continually stared down the systems that sought to oppress LGBTQ+ people in the military. Following a nearly twenty year military career his sexuality was finally turned against him and he decided to fight it in the courts. He would go on to win the first appellate court case against the US military’s ban on lesbian and gay service members.
Sgt. Perry Watkins, 1983
Credit: Steve Stewart for Positive Image: A Portrait of Gay America, published by William Morrow & Company, 1985
Perry James Henry Watkins was born in Joplin, Missouri on August 20, 1948. By 1967 he was living in Germany where his step-father was stationed. He had been open his entire life about his sexuality. When he was drafted for military service he told an Army psychologist he was gay and affirmed his homosexuality during his induction exam. Despite this, he was still categorized as “qualified for military service.”
Throughout his time in the military he did not hide his sexuality. When his first tour of duty ended in 1970 he decided to reenlist, again being open about his sexuality and receiving no pushback. During his second tour he would would often dress in drag an perform under the name “Simone.” His shows were so well-received he was invited to perform at men’s clubs across US military bases in Europe. He reenlisted again in 1974 and then in 1979 with the goal of serving twenty years of military service in order to qualify for a full pension.
Throughout his military career he was occasionally investigated for his sexual orientation. Each time, however, the investigation was ended due to his refusal to provide names of other homosexual servicemen or because of his excellent record. This changed in 1980 when his security clearance was revoked, preventing his promotion from staff sergeant to sergeant first class. With the help of an ACLU attorney he appealed this decision, eventually escalating it to federal district court in Seattle. In response, the Army began discharge proceedings against Perry. The Army’s stance was that admission of homosexuality was grounds for dismissal, and Perry had been consistently open about his sexuality during his military service.
This case continued to work its way through the court system during which time Perry remained enlisted. When the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling requiring the Army to act in contradiction of their own regulations, Perry was discharged from service but did not stop fighting in court. In 1988 he summed up the case by saying, “For 16 years the Army said being a homosexual wasn’t detrimental to my job. Then, after the fact, they said it was. Logic is a lost art in the army.” That same year the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of Perry, and upheld the decision in an en banc review, stating that homosexuals cannot be excluded based on status but could be excluded based on conduct. This resulted in the first US appellate court ruling against the military ban on homosexual servicemembers.
The Supreme Court declined to take up review of the case. By now Perry was 42 and opted not to reenlist, instead settling for backpay, full retirement benefits, retroactive promotion to sergeant first class, and an honorable discharge.
Perry served as one of the grand marshals in the 1993 New York City Gay Pride Parade, but would go on to have a tense relationship with the gay community, specifically those advocating for LGBTQ+ servicemembers to serve openly in the military. He frequently called out the racism present in the gay community, telling an interviewer:
“Racism within the gay community is a big problem. The primary reason is that we are a direct reflection of the society from which we come, which is controlled by white males. When the gay community was formed and became political, the leaders were white men, and the brought their prejudices with them.”
Perry Watkins died on March 17, 1996 in Tacoma, Washington due to complications from AIDS.
Learn more about Perry Watkins here:
Perry Watkins - The Legacy Project
Perry Watkins, 48, Gay Sergeant Won Court Battle With Army - The New York Times
Perry Watkins - Making Gay History: The Podcast
Perry Watkins: A Black Gay Soldier’s Story - San Francisco Bay Times
Watkins v. United States Army amicus brief - American Psychological Association