Laura Ingraham attempted to tie a drag show fundraiser on a US military base to the problem of sexual assault in the military, suggesting that the drag show was part of an effort to “further sexualize” life on military bases.

On March 1, the Okinawa chapter of OutServe-SLDN held a fundraising event featuring six servicemembers - gay, lesbian, and heterosexual - lip syncing in drag. The event was a major success for the group, selling 400 tickets and receiving a warm reception by attendees.

The event has predictably drawn outrage from conservative commentators, including radio host Laura Ingraham. During the March 5 edition of The Laura Ingraham Show, Ingraham criticized the military for allowing "lewd" events like drag shows and questioned whether such events might anger “the Muslim world.”

When a caller raised the issue of sexual assault in the military, Ingraham used the opportunity to suggest that military sexual assault might somehow be tied to attempts to “further sexualize bases”:

INGRAHAM: Is it counterproductive to efforts to curb sexual assault on military bases to further sexualize the atmosphere on these bases? Is there any relation between the two issues? These are things we should talk about. It's not about demonizing anyone. I don't want to demonize any group of people. But this is a military. It is a fighting force. ... Above all else that is what they are charged with doing. And there's a military code of conduct that is different from civilian life. And they separate themselves from civilian life for a reason, because you need that discipline and you need that code and you need that respect for authority to hold it together on the battlefield. If you don't have that, if all the lines dissolve away, then we are less effective as a military force. That is a fact.

Ingraham isn't alone in suggesting that the drag show fundraiser is somehow related to military sexual assault. Far-right website WorldNetDaily, in an article about the fundraiser, similarly cited levels of male-on-male sexual assaults and tied them to broader acceptance of gay people in the military.