Hello, Sailor!: Difference between revisions

It's a lonely life in the Navy. Perhaps outside [[Prison Rape]] or [[Schoolgirl Lesbians|single-gender schools]], one of the well-known versions of [[Situational Sexuality]] is in the naval service. For years, men would be left alone together on ships for weeks on end, as female sailors served in a very limited capacity if at all (this is slowly changing), causing these men to have their sexual urges met ''somehow''. This has led to sailors becoming sex symbols among gay men. Definitely [[Truth in Television]] on occasion, and in fiction, a common subtrope of the [[Manly Gay]] and [[StraightInvisible Gayto Gaydar]] types. Pretty much [[Older Than Steam]].

[[Dead Horse Trope|A somewhat outdated trope nowadays]], however, as most military fetishists have been leaning towards the sweaty and [[Perma -Stubble|permastubbled]] soldier or marine as of late.

{{examples|Examples:}}

* In the ''[[Area 88 (Manga)|Area 88]]'' TV series, former US Navy pilot Mick Simon is seen reading a ''Playgirl'' magazine in the cafeteria.

* ''[[Kurogane Pukapuka Tai (Manga)|Kurogane Pukapuka Tai]]'' fills the Indian Ocean with lesbian sailors during [[World War II]].

* In the second volume of ''Heroes For Hire'', the main characters [[Action Girl|Misty Knight]], [[Ninja|Colleen Wing]], [[Everybody Was Kung -Fu Fighting|Shang-Chi]], and [[Classy Cat Burglar|Black Cat]] find themselves in a stolen boat with the Coast Guard about to board them.

{{quote| '''Misty: '''What do we do?<br />

'''Colleen Wing: '''Relax, they're ''sailors''. Just look cute.<br />

'''Shang-Chi: '''That might not work for all of us, Colleen.<br />

* Captain Shakespeare of the ''[[Stardust (Filmfilm)|Stardust]]'' [[The Movie|film]] (though not the book) is a [[Camp Gay|flamboyantly gay]] secret [[Drag Queen]]. Technically not a Navy man, but a sky pirate. Played by [[Robert De Niro]], of all people!

** It's said DeNiro took the role of Shakespeare out of deep regret at having passed on playing [[Pirates of the Caribbean|Jack Sparrow]]. Make of that what ye will.

** Even ''[[Moby Dick]]'' is stuffed full of it. Including Ishmael and Queequeg's status as [[Heterosexual Life Partners]] and Ishmael wading, nay, [[Have a Gay Old Time|wallowing in sperm]]<ref> Spermaceti, an oil found in the head of the sperm whale, which was originally thought to be whale sperm</ref> along with the rest of the crew.

{{quote| The Navy? Cover my back, wingman. The rear admiral wants us to pound away with the 10-inch gun. [[Fridge Logic|I mean, isn't just joining the Navy alone gay enough to get you thrown out of the Navy?]]}}

* Used in ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'', of all shows, in the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VucFQe_vhmI&feature=related#t=2m37s final host segment] of ''[[Teenagers From Outer Space (Film)|Teenagers Fromfrom Outer Space]]''. Tom Servo has a rather...spirited reaction to the sight of Joel in a homemade Navy-style uniform.

* In one round of the ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway?]]'' game "If you Know what I Mean," which involves speaking in nothing but sexual innuendos, one of the players reminisces, "When I was in the Navy, I was surrounded by seamen!"

* The second-season ''[[Black AdderBlackadder]]'' episode "Potato" is full of gay sailor jokes since it revolves around explorers and sea voyages. The next episode has Baldrick suggest making money down at the docks by exploiting this trope.

* The subtext of the [[Village People (Music)|Village People]] song "In the Navy".

* This trope has been immortalized in song for well over a century at the very least. [[http://www.csufresno.edu/folklore/drinkingsongs/mp3s/1950s/1955ca-bawdy-songs-vol-5-bawdy-sea-shanties-<!-- 28LP29%28LP%29/09-backside-rules-the-navy.htm "Backside rules the Navy; backside rules the sea...."]]{{Dead -->link}}

* Damon Albarn, while working on the [[Gorillaz (Music)|Gorillaz]] album ''Plastic Beach'', apparently worried that the nautical theme would come across this way, according to [http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a280059/albarn-worried-gorillaz-would-look-too-gay.html this interview].

* In the video game ''[[Tradewinds]]: Legends'', the burly Berber swordsman Hasan Tazere is a [[StraightInvisible Gayto Gaydar]] with occasional [[Camp Gay]] ("Does this tattoo complement my eyes?") and [[Manly Gay]] ("Visit meat market. Find bear.") concerns--andconcerns—and he's out! E.g., when he makes a particularly large deposit, the Banker is likely to ask if Hasan has met his or her son, and the other playable characters inquire if he's had any success searching for his . . . brother. (Since a [[Running Gag]] of the game is that the playable characters persistently misunderstand each other, this gay troper is convinced that Hasan's warrior brother Omar is straight.)

* The trope name is actually a recurring [[Catch Phrase]] in the old ''[[Zork (Video Game)|Zork]]'' games.

* Apparently referenced in this [http://www.thecrewdogs.com/2009_11_13 Crew Dogs]{{Dead link}} strip by an Air Force member.

* Used in an episode of ''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]]'' with the Sea Captain, where he was shown purchasing lots of pornography before a long voyage to keep himself and his men straight ... for about five minutes.

{{quote| '''Sea Captain''': "I don't swing that way ... on land!}}

** "Simpson Tide" had the Village People sing on the submarine with Smithers dancing along.

* A rather odd version would be Mirage of ''[[Transformers Energon (Anime)|Transformers Energon]]'' who is most of the Decepticon navy by virtue of being ''a boat''. He's also completely gay for Megatron.

* A naval school in ''[[Family Guy (Animation)|Family Guy]]'', described by an instructor:

{{quote| '''Instructor:''' ...Our curriculum consists of being on boats for long periods of time with men, just men, for many days at a time. Up on the deck with lots of men, or down in the galley with lots of men.<br />

'''Chris:''' Is this some kind of pirate school?<br />

'''Instructor:''' Well... a certain kind of pirate. Yes, we've been called that.<br />

{{quote| '''Stewie''': I'm the greatest captain of the queen's navy<br />

'''Sailors''': And your record will stand as proof.<br />

'''Stewie''': Be it galleon or freighter, I'm an expert navigator.<br />

'''Sailors''': And you're also a world class poof.<br />

'''Stewie''': My manner quite effete/Is mistaken on the street For a sailor who can pirouette on -->cue.<br />

Well despite your point of view, I can thrill a girl or two...<br />

But I'd rather get it on with you!<br />

[[Category:Hello, Sailor!]]