The US military has a long history of helping the entertainment industry with props and narrative consulting. This includes The Village People’s music video for the song In The Navy. And the Navy even used the song in recruiting efforts, until they realized that the VP were quite gay.

What I find curious is the issue of authorship. Lyrically the song is a paean to the Navy. And if sung by hetero cadets, would likely be embraced by the brass. But since it’s by gay men, is assumed to be laced with subtext. I imagine that it was penned with a wink, but where does it fall within intent vs. interpretation? Could it exist with fan bases that may be at cross purposes? Makes me think of Soulja Boy, SkeetSkeet +FUBU or how Abercrombie & Fitch, worn by many a conservative frat boy, uses the gay terms ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ when cataloguing their menswear.