President Donald Trump‘s new Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, whose controversial nomination received “no” votes from three GOP Senators before advancing via Vice President JD Vance‘s tie-breaking vote, has been a vocal critic of the LGBTQ community and its representation in the “woke” military during the Biden administration.
Hegseth’s strong anti-woke stance is a core element of the MAGA doctrine, and part of what makes the combat veteran and Fox News host an appealing choice for Trump — that in addition to Hegseth’s “central casting” look, which Trump has commended, and the new SecDef’s vow to make the American military more “lethal.”
In his book, The War on Warriors, Hegseth voiced his opposition to every element of what might be considered “woke” in the military ranks, from the decidedly controversial role of transgender troops to the now widely accepted role of women in the military.
[NOTE: Hegseth’s objections aren’t only about gender, but also include race and religion. He claims in the book that the US military is facing recruitment challenges because it features diverse service members in its ad campaigns, writing that the military’s DEI initiatives are turning off “the young, patriotic, Christian men who have traditionally filled our ranks.”]
Beyond objecting to multicultural ads and transgender troops — he writes that the latter are “not deployable” because they’re “reliant on chemicals” — Hegseth has also questioned, indeed dismissed, the viability and effectiveness of female soldiers in combat.
The new Secretary of Defense has said “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.” More recently Hegseth has walked this back this blanket assertion, saying: “We support all women serving in our military today who do a fantastic job across the globe, in our Pentagon, and deliver critical aspects, all aspects, combat included.”
Culture battles such as the current “woke in military” skirmish are often fought with the tools of popular culture, rather than with political rhetoric. (Note: Right-wing firebrand Steven Bannon spent formative time in the Hollywood image-making machine.)
TV shows like Modern Family and Will & Grace are widely said to have done more for gay marriage and gay rights than years of earnest protesting and marches.
In that light, the newly released Hollywood movie Dirty Angels comes at a propitious time for women in the military, especially given the strain of masculine dominance fueling changes in the Pentagon.
[NOTE: Without any reference to gender, Trump fired U.S. Coast Guard Commandment Admiral Linda Fagan on his second day in office. Fagan was the first woman to lead a branch of the U.S. military.]
Dirty Angels — in select theaters and currently streaming — makes a case for the vital importance of women in the armed forces more powerfully than any memo or statistic can.
Its heroic narrative also refutes Hegseth’s dismissal of women’s value in the field as it follows a group of American female soldiers who disguise themselves as medics to rescue a group of teenagers that’s been taken hostage by ISIS in Afghanistan. (Spoiler alert: mission accomplished.)
As seen in the trailer above, Eva Green (Casino Royale, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Penny Dreadful) stars with Maria Bakalova — who played the late Ivanka Trump in the controversial 2024 Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice. The film also features nonbinary actor Ruby Rose (Orange Is the New Black, Batwoman), and openly gay Jojo T. Gibbs, who recently spoke about the portrayal of “masculine-presenting lesbians” in Hollywood.
_(cropped).jpg){kind=link}