Earlier this week, my Facebook was buzzing with postings about the first Navy lesbian kiss, an event captured by The Virginian-Pilot photographer Brian J. Clark.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta, left, kisses her girlfriend, Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell, at Little Creek in Virginia Beach on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2011. It's a tradition at Navy homecomings that one sailor is chosen by raffle to be first off the ship to kiss a loved one. Wednesday, for the first time, the reunited couple was same-sex.
It’s an historic moment, a simple gesture and a simple photo with all the weight of the national debate around Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell behind it. I am not the only one who was instantly reminded of this famous image shot by Alfred Eisenstaedt for Life magazine of a sailor kissing a nurse on Victory Over Japan Day in 1945.
I love how, in two different contexts, two historic moments, the simple gesture of a kiss can capture so much meaning: the end of a conflict, the end of a long silence, and, in both, the joy of reuniting with a lover long missed.
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Picture This | seattletimes.com blog
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