Boots: Angus O’Brien and Miles Heizer – Photo: Netflix
The Pentagon is bashing the hit Netflix series Boots as “woke garbage.”
Based on The Pink Marine, former Marine Greg Cope White’s memoir, Boots follows Cameron Cope (Miles Heizer), a closeted teen who joins his straight best friend, Ray McAffey (Liam Oh), at a U.S. Marine Corps boot camp run by the ruthless Sgt. Sullivan (Max Parker).
Set in the 1990s, the series unfolds at a time when service members discovered to be gay or engaged in same-sex activity could be dishonorably discharged. In 1994, under the Clinton administration, Congress approved a so-called “compromise” policy — “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” — that ostensibly allowed gay and lesbian troops to continue serving.
Under the policy, gay and lesbian troops could remain in the military so long as they stayed closeted, avoided discussing their sexuality, and kept same-sex relationships private. In turn, superior officers were not supposed to investigate a service member’s orientation unless they had direct evidence of same-sex activity. In practice, however, the “don’t ask” part of the deal was routinely violated, leading to the discharge of an estimated 13,500 gay and lesbian service members between 1994 and 2011, when the policy was finally repealed.
While these are established historical facts, the Trump administration — which appears to regard any acknowledgment of LGBTQ identity or recognition of past discrimination as offensive — has condemned the series, accusing it of pushing an “ideological agenda.”
“Under President Trump and Secretary [Pete] Hegseth, the U.S. military is getting back to restoring the warrior ethos. Our standards across the board are elite, uniform, and sex-neutral because the weight of a rucksack or a human being doesn’t care if you’re a man, a woman, gay, or straight,” said U.S. Department of Defense Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson in a statement to Entertainment Weekly.
Wilson continued, saying Pentagon officials “will not compromise our standards to satisfy an ideological agenda, unlike Netflix, whose leadership consistently produces and feeds woke garbage to their audience and children.”
Boots, which premiered on Netflix on October 9, has remained in the platform’s top 10 most-watched shows since its debut.
Despite its popularity, critic Stuart Heritage of The Guardian argues the show doesn’t just reflect the historical injustices faced by LGBTQ service members — it practically doubles as a recruitment video for the military. According to Heritage, the sexuality plotline is only part of Boots, while “the rest, confusingly, is all about how goddamn awesome it is to be a soldier,” complete with recruits bonding “over a competition to see who can do the biggest poo” and a scene “where a dispute is resolved during a Bugsy Malone-style food fight.”
Heritage wrote, “It is honestly a little like watching a long recruitment ad.”
That distinction appears lost on the Trump administration, which views Netflix — and much of mainstream media — as its adversary.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, has been among the administration’s most vocal figures in rolling back what he deems “woke” policies — including recognition of LGBTQ identities and measures allowing transgender service members to serve openly — in line with Trump administration executive orders and political priorities.
Earlier this year, Hegseth ordered the Navy to strip the USNSHarvey Milk — named for the Korean War veteran and assassinated gay rights activist — of its title as part of the administration’s push to “reestablish the warrior culture.”
The Milk was one of several John Lewis-class oilers named for historical figures representing communities that have been historically underrepresented. The timing of the June announcement — Pride Month — was deliberate, intended to send a message, according to Pentagon officials who spoke to Military.com.
Last month, Hegseth unveiled new personnel standards for the military, railing against “woke” culture and vowing to eliminate race- and gender-based programs. He also pledged to impose stricter grooming rules, introduce “gender-neutral” uniforms and “male-level” fitness benchmarks, and ease restrictions on hazing and harassment.
The Capital Pride Alliance and WorldPride DC organizers hosted a "wrap-up party" on September 30 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center to unveil the WorldPride 2025 Impact Report, highlighting the celebration's economic and cultural reach.
The event, featuring food, drinks, and live performances, celebrated WorldPride’s success while giving LGBTQ community members a chance to reflect on the experience and the lessons learned from hosting a large-scale festival in D.C., helping build an infrastructure the city can use for future events.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention credits interventions like doxy PEP for helping curb the spread of gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia.
The overall rate of sexually transmitted infections has fallen for the third consecutive year, according to the latest provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC reported 2.2 million cases of sexually transmitted infections in 2024 -- 13% higher than in 2015 but 9% lower than in 2023. The data also mark the third consecutive year that rates of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia have declined.
Specifically, cases of primary and secondary syphilis -- the disease's most infectious stages -- declined by 22% from 2023, marking the second straight year of decline.
The Trump administration has agreed to settle a lawsuit by restoring webpages containing health- and science-related information, including resources on HIV and LGBTQ health issues, that had been deleted to comply with a series of executive orders issued by President Donald Trump.
Those orders sought to erase transgender identity from federal law, prohibited agencies from using the term "gender" in policy, and targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across government and the private sector.
Other Trump orders targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in both government and the private sector, and threatened to strip federal funding from events or organizations accused of promoting so-called "gender ideology."
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