L.A. photographer documents U.S. military's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy

Why would you want to take a portrait of someone without showing his or her face? The essence of portrait photography, after all, is to capture the spirit of the subject and to reveal some crucial aspect of his or her identity.

But in the case of L.A. photographer Jeff Sheng's latest project, capturing his subjects' faces would almost certainly put their careers in jeopardy. That's because Sheng has set about to photograph U.S. military service personnel who are gay but closeted in their work lives. Titled "Dont' Ask, Don't Tell," the ongoing project consists of a series of stark, sometimes sad, portraits of U.S. soldiers who are forced to hide a part of who they are.

"I want to give an invisible community some visibility, but at the same time, to keep them invisible," said Sheng on the phone from Vancouver, where he is working on another project.

"There's already a lot of journalistic work on gay people in the military who have been discharged. My project is more about people who are still serving."

To conceal the identities of current military personnel, the photographer has used lighting and shadow effects to mask part or all of their faces. Sometimes, the subject will conceal his or her face with a hand, as in the photo above, titled "Jess, Bend, Oregon, 2009." (The names and towns of the titles are fictional for the protection of identity.) In certain cases, the entire subject is hidden in the shadows. The photographer sometimes meets them in a hotel near the base where they are serving.

Sheng, who grew up in Southern California and whose studio is located near Culver City, began the project this fall and said that he will have photographed 10 subjects by the end of the year. "I told myself that I'm going to stop the project when the policy ['don't ask, don't tell'] gets repealed," he said.

The photographer said that an L.A. exhibition of the project is in the works for next year, though nothing has been confirmed. He said he would like to include 20 photographs in the eventual show.

In 2008, Sheng received much attention for his photographic series "Fearless," which documented high school and college athletes who are openly gay, bisexual or transgender.

He said some of his leads for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" have come from his work on "Fearless." He added that many of his eventual subjects contact him through his website. Not surprisingly, "Don't Ask, Dont' Tell" has begun receiving attention on the blogosphere, where some of Sheng's images are already circulating.

"I've been active in the gay community, so I've been able to garner a lot of trust from that," said Sheng. "And that's the biggest fear that I think people have with this project -- how do you trust someone?"

-- David Ng

Photo: "Jess, Bend, Oregon, 2009," part of the series "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Credit: Jeff Sheng

Related stories

Giving local artists a first good shot

Comments

[Holly Star]

I don't get this article at all. Last I saw we had an all-volunteer military. Nobody's going to buy they didn't know the policy before they enlisted.

Or is this to push Obama to generate an Executive Order to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell? That'll be tough when his popularity is going down in flames.

There are a lot of distraught folks out there wondering how to pay for Christmas, let alone tonight's dinner. At least these guys will chow down well.

[Patrick]

To Holly above: I think that being aware of a particular policy when one volunteers for the military shouldn't mean that one can't be critical of that policy. For example, many women who voluntarily joined the military are opposed to the prohibition on women in combat. Going back further, I'm sure a number of black soldiers who volunteered for the military when it was still segregated were critical of that policy. But, if what you are really trying to say is that that you support the exclusion on gays in the military and are not sympathetic to those who oppose it (as your comment suggests), then you should just say that.

[2 cents]

this typifies the exact opposite of the warrior ethos: "me first, others later"

[emanuel oncu]

How sad.

[Brian Turner]

"At least these guys will chow down well."

Wow, I can't believe the comments that sometimes come out of civilians with absolutely no experience in military service. Who care about paying for christmas or eating dinner? These men and women have done countless tours in a war zone, gone without food, water, hygiene, and loved ones on a daily basis. Not to mention the whole, oh I dont know.....getting shot at, maimed, burned alive, tortured, and blown to pieces. Instead being a whiny child this christmas, think about all those servicemen and women who don't have to worry about buying christmas presents or enjoying a christmas dinner simply due to the fact they are thousands of miles away from their family's. Chow down on that!!!!

[pasadena jag]

The military! What a joke. I have met so many men, interested in pursuing a career in the military, who were bi-sexual or gay. And were thrown out. Why? Because America is run by a lot of Christers with their slimy moral attitudes.
Americas has become a total irrational joke!!!

[Peter A.]

Yes, it is always bittersweet to acknowledge the personal sacrifices that our servicemen and women go through for the defense of this country. In this case it's suppressing public knowledge and expression of their sexual orientations. However, this is part of the normal suppression of self for the good of the unit and the service. Repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy would be a huge mistake, undermining the morale and combat effectiveness that is based on collective, not individual, norms. Thus I respect gay service personnel for this sacrifice on their part.

[Ray O.]

Bravo to Sheng & the courageous young men & women who will participate in this important project. Discrimination belongs nowhere in our society including the military. Personally I think what IS sad is that others think otherwise.

[August]

When is this country going to grow up and stop hating everyone?

[jojo]

good work

[Chris]

Many of the opponents of the "Don't ask Don't tell" policy have never served a day in the military. Instead they look down on us from their sophisticted college educated lives and dictate to us how we should live. As a Staff Sergeant in the Marine Corps I can say that this is the last thing we need in the times we are in. And also with the combat stress that many are facing, by placing openly gay folks in the military is going to lead to an outbreak of violent incidents as well as an increase in the number of those imprisioned as a result. The military refuses to be force fed homosexuality, and many of us appreciate the contributions those people are willing to make. However I recommend they serve their country in other ways as their is a wide variety of domestic work to be done.

[Ray O.]

For Chris:

Ummm! Israel (plus Europe, NATO, & Australia for that matter) has had no problem w/ glbt service members serving THEIR country openly in the midst of terrorism. Sorry that argument doesn't hold!

[Ray O.]

Also for Chris:

Yeah many college educated individuals haven't served in the military, but neither have many non-college educated individuals. And how about the glbt service members currently (& previously) serving THEIR country in the midst of such a hostile environment? Aren't/haven't they serving/served THEIR country & understand/understood the horrible affects of DADT?

[Krystal]

I think that this article above is really going to capture the hurt in what the soldiers have to go through. Concealing who you really are is a hard task.I tried to hide it for almost 2 years. I was dishcarged due to being gay becasue one of my fellow soldiers thought it would be fun to follow me around and take pictures of me outside of work. I think that its rediculous. Why turn someone away that is willing to fight for their country. And to the fist individual that made that comment, you need to think about what you say before you say it. These soldiers are risking their lives so that you can even have a christmas or Thanksgiving. So get over how spoiled you are and in this time of "Thanksgiving" be thankful you arent being blown up by a roadside IUD!

[artbloc]

Nicely Done.

[Teri Munday]

Supporters of the don't ask, don't tell policy think that allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military will cause tension and would compromise the cohesiveness and privacy of troops; which may in turn cause the military to lose service members. But according to surveys by the Military Times, over 60 percent of active duty respondents opposed the idea, but said nothing of not willing to serve with them. Therefore, the tension being caused would thoroughly depend upon if the government will be willing to tolerate the hatred of any minority in the military. So does this really come down to a concern of causing tension or rather the ignorance and fear of the unknown? The transition time of gays openly serving in the military will be similar that of open acceptance of women in the military. Gay men being the same as straight men are not driven by their sexual orientation, they choose jobs and professions based on the same reason's as heterosexual's do, not based on their sexuality.

[Lee Beffort]

In a time of war on two fronts, to fire a crucial Arab linguist because he/she is gay, is putting America's National Defense in jeopardy.
Those who oppose lifting the ban on Don't Ask Don't Tell are aiding & Abetting the enemy in a time of war!

[Tara]

Im all for the repeal. But my problem is that if it does get repealed...some people still have huge anger towards the GLBT community. If you think about it, repealing this and having them out in the open might cause other people against them to act out. This "Dont ask, Dont tell" policy has its adavntages and disadvantages. This is just my opinion.