Gay sailors

Sea queens is a term referring to gay men who worked aboard mainly merchant vessels before the s. They were predominantly effeminate gay men who worked either in entertainment or as waiters on cruise ships, often becoming off-shore 'wives' for heterosexual sailors for the duration of voyages.

For centuries, LGBTQIA+ sailors served their country in silence. From the early days of Continental Navy, through USS Constitution ’s active sailing years, and into the 20th century, homosexuality was a crime subject to punishment by court martial, usually resulting in discharge.