I have to be honest here. I’ve always had a weakness for men in uniform. My attraction to the uniformed man could have had something, maybe just the tiniest bit, to do with why I joined the Army in the first place. Of course I wanted to serve my country, to swear to protect and defend, to have experiences one could never have if you didn’t go through the rigorous training, learned the discipline, passed muster and graduated into the service. But being surrounded by men who have earned the right to sport the various uniforms of the services and the bling that goes along with specialized training? Well, it’s hard to not admire them no matter what service or uniform they wear.
Women in uniform? Well, let’s just say I never felt cute, or sexy or attractive at all when I had my uniform on. It didn’t matter if it was BDUs, Class As, Bs, PTs, none of it made me feel anything other than frumpy.
Lately, I’ve admired the royals in their finery. Couldn’t help but be wowed by William in his Irish Guards wedding attire. Then there’s
the bad boy Harry. Last week, during the jubilee celebrations, Harry was looking very military in his blue beret.
I’m fairly certain that a woman in uniform does not have the same affect on those attracted to women as men in uniform do to those of us who are attracted to men. Have I always been wrong about that? Are women in uniform just as sexy as men in uniform?
M. L. Doyle has served in the U.S. Army at home and abroad for more than two decades as both a soldier and civilian. Mary is the author of The Desert Goddess series, an urban fantasy romp consisting of The Bonding Spell and The Bonding Blade. She has also penned The Master Sergeant Harper mystery series which has earned numerous awards including an IPPY, a Lyra Award and the Carrie McCray Literary Award. Mary is the co-author of two memoirs; A Promise Fulfilled; the story of a Wife and Mother, Soldier and General Officer (Jan. 201) and the memoir, I’m Still Standing: From Captive U.S. Soldier to Free Citizen—My Journey Home (Touchstone, 2010), which was nominated for an NAACP Image award. Mary's work has been published by The Goodman Project, The War Horse, The WWrite Blog and The Wrath-Bearing Tree, an online magazine for which she serves as a fiction editor. A Minneapolis, Minnesota native, Mary current lives in Baltimore. You can reach her at her website at mldoyleauthor.com.
