The US Navy have launched a ‘gender neutral’ submarine and bigots are losing their minds
The US Navy lifted its ban on female sailors on submarines in 2010, but many subs are still better suited to male sailors (Getty)
The US Navy unveiled a brand new submarine last week; the first of its kind as it is designed to hold both male and female sailors.
Dubbed the USS New Jersey, it was announced during a ceremony at the Naval Weapons Station Earle, NJ.
The submarine will hold a crew of nearly 135 Navy personnel and has been created to ensure safety and privacy for both male and female sailors, including accommodations such as increased privacy in washrooms and sleeping areas as well as access to top bunks and overhead valves being designed with the height, reach, and strength of women in mind.
Other submarines in the Navy’s fleet were originally designed to only have male crew members, so there have been concerns about the living quarters onboard being ill-suited for female physiology, as well as offering a distinct lack of privacy, since the ban on women in submarines was lifted in 2010.
As of 2023, there were 609 women assigned to submarines, according to the US Naval Institute.
The Navy previously retrofitted older submarines to accommodate women but the USS New Jersey is the first to be outlined with women in mind from the outset.
Despite this being a major step forward for gender equality within the Navy as a whole, some people are angry at the concept of what they’re describing as a “gender neutral” submarine in the Navy’s fleet.
Angry right-wingers have posted on X to express their annoyance, with one person mockingly declaring that the submarine would be named “the USS TikTok and go by they/them pronouns”.
Another said: “This is a f***ing joke! I hate this country for what they are doing to it.”
Other members of the anti-woke brigade argued that having a gender neutral submarine would make the US a mockery to other countries. One person said: “This is what our military has come to. Gender Neutral Submarines. People wonder why the U.S is being laughed at.”
“Our enemies tremble in terror at the thought of our gender neutral submarine,” a self-proclaimed Donald Trump supporter sarcastically posted.
A third said: “Our enemies are laughing directly in our faces with weak propaganda bullshit like this.”
“Even our subs have been (dragged) into this woke gender mess,” a fourth person wrote.
Even though some people are losing their minds over a submarine being designed to make the lives of both male and female sailors better while they are on-board, underwater, the Navy have said that this won’t be the last “gender neutral” submarine in their fleet.
Vice Admiral Robert Gaucher, commander of Submarine Forces Atlantic, said all future nuclear-powered attack submarines and ballistic missile submarines will be designed “gender neutral from the keel up”, military news outlet Stars and Stripes reported.
