Transgender Soldier, Chelsea Manning, recently won her case to receive hormone therapy.
In a landmark ruling, the US army approved Manning’s treatment, which she will receive
while serving time for leaking government documents to Wikileaks.
The motion could mean that the army is finally changing its policies towards transgender
personnel.
So where does the army stand on the issue now?
In 2010, the law prohibiting lesbians, gay men and bisexuals from serving in the military
was repealed.
The abolishment of the don’t ask, don’t tell law, was a victory for the LGBT community
with one notable exception.
The transgender community.
To this day, people who identify as being transgender are banned from serving in the
U.S. military.
But unlike don’t ask don’t tell, the ban is not a congressional law.
It’s simply an outdated military medical code that classifies being transgender as
a psychological disorder.
Gender dysphoria, or not identifying with the gender you were born with, is now a recognised
medical condition.
Critics urge the DoD to update the medical code.
Although recruiters reportedly turn down transgender applicants because of the code, many soldiers
don’t fully realize their gender identity until they are enrolled in service.
A UCLA report estimates there are 15,000 active military personnel who identify as transgender.
And despite a handful of exceptions, the majority of these soldiers will be discharged from
service if they are found out.
According to one public policy report, there is no compelling medical reason why transgender
people should be banned from military service.
Experts note that unfairly discharging competent transgender personnel is a waste of army resources.
It far outweighs any medical support he or she could possibly need.
So what would it take to lift the military’s transgender ban?
Well, not much.
The only thing that needs to be changed is the military’s medical code - not congressional
law - which was the case with the repeal of “don’t ask don’t tell”.
Former Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel has previously said that the military should continually
review it’s transgender policy.
And a change might come sooner than you think.
A memo recently leaked from the DoD, suggests that the military is at least considering
easing it’s policy on discharging transgender soldiers.
Together with Chelsea Manning’s ruling, the transgender community can remain hopeful
that the military will finally accept them.
Believe it or not, discrimination against LGBT people isn’t just commonplace in the
US, but it is legal.
To learn more about the issue, take a look at our video here.
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