Sir, Yes, Sir

October 25, 2016 7:08 AM

What It Feels Like Being A Trans Person Serving In The Armed Forces, an interview with former Senior Airman Jordan Blisk, US Air Force Reserves, cartoonified by Jess Ruliffson
posted by Etrigan (26 comments total)

Thanks for posting. That was great!
posted by Bella Donna at 7:29 AM on October 25, 2016

Related - a Twitter thread by a trans woman about the DoD's new Transgender Service Handbook (Storify)

Previously, previously
posted by AFABulous at 7:30 AM on October 25, 2016 [9 favorites]

Really good, interesting, and informative read.
posted by prepmonkey at 7:31 AM on October 25, 2016

The VA is considering gender-confirming surgery for veterans. (By the way, the surgery mentioned in the FPP link is $6000-$10,000 out of pocket, plus travel & hotel expenses, time off of work and other ancillary miscellaneous.)
posted by AFABulous at 7:34 AM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

Huh, I wonder why trans people are so overrepresented in the military?
posted by sotonohito at 8:25 AM on October 25, 2016

Huh, I wonder why trans people are so overrepresented in the military?

There are a couple of theories. The main one is that historically, the military is a way to "make a man out of you", so 18-year-old AMAB kids thought it would sort of "pray away" their feelings. The second one (which Blisk refers to) is that it gets you out of the shitty little town that's been treating you like shit your whole life because you're a little off the beaten path.

Kristin Beck has said that she joined up for just these reasons -- the SEALs were the "toughest of the tough", and their long training and deployments kept her away from family.
posted by Etrigan at 8:30 AM on October 25, 2016 [13 favorites]

"...twenty percent of transgender people have served in the military, which is double the percentage of the U.S. general population that has served."

Do you think that is because of a quality of the military or because of a quality in transgender people?

I ask because one of the main takeaways I had from just under ten years in the U.S. military was one of indifference - nothing but competence really mattered in the final analysis. Sure, there were assholes and sexism and all the other assorted bullshit you get when you attempt to organize a large number of people, but when the fight was on or the ship was on fire, nobody cared but that you could do your job.

I'm cis, but I feel like that sort of indifference would be a comfort when compared to the sort of attention that is normally paid.
posted by Mooski at 8:32 AM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

It's probably fairly important to note that the experience of the military described here - as affirming and empowering - is a narrative that's not uncommon amongst trans men, but completely counter to the typical narrative for trans women (in my experience).
posted by Dysk at 8:32 AM on October 25, 2016 [18 favorites]

Huh, I wonder why trans people are so overrepresented in the military?

Because it's a way out of bad situations. If you're in an insular community that hates what you are, and you have nowhere to turn, enlistment can be a real lifesaver allowing you a safe way to leave that toxic environment.
posted by NoxAeternum at 8:32 AM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

Because it's a way out of bad situations. If you're in an insular community that hates what you are, and you have nowhere to turn, enlistment can be a real lifesaver allowing you a safe way to leave that toxic environment.

This cannot be the the all of it, since trans representation in the military is not just a US thing - trans people are overrepresented in the British military as well, for example, where (until comparatively recently) there was a comprehensive social safety net and no particular benefits of that kind provided by the military.
posted by Dysk at 8:35 AM on October 25, 2016 [4 favorites]

I ask because one of the main takeaways I had from just under ten years in the U.S. military was one of indifference - nothing but competence really mattered in the final analysis.

It's not a coincidence that the ends of DADT and the ban on openly trans servicemembers came during a period of prolonged active conflict (or that the U.S. military racially desegregated because of WWII and during the Korean War*; or let women in during the Vietnam War). When a bunch of young adults have nothing else to do (i.e., the 1990s), they have a lot of time to care about who's sleeping with whom and who's using which bathroom. When those same young adults are routinely involved in literally life-or-death matters, they start to see how people who are different are nevertheless useful and competent.

* -- Truman signed the Executive Order in 1948. The Army straight-up ignored it until 1951.
posted by Etrigan at 8:39 AM on October 25, 2016 [3 favorites]

Military culture has a lot of celebration of the stereotypical masculine ideal baked into it. A man who goes into the military is viewed as more of a man; a woman who goes into the military is given more leeway when she deviates from stereotypical feminine behaviors. So a trans woman still presenting as a male-gendered is provided camouflage, while a trans man still presenting as female-gendered is allowed a venue to explore himself that he might not outside that culture.
posted by Anonymous at 8:48 AM on October 25, 2016

I came here to say what schrodinger said. I know ~7 people in my IRL trans social circle who have served, and the trans men have said it's because they could express more masculinity within the military than in civilian life. Caitlyn Jenner has said she went into athletics in an attempt to suppress her femininity and prove she could be a man.
posted by AFABulous at 9:08 AM on October 25, 2016 [6 favorites]

My trans veteran acquaintances are far more conservative than my non-veteran trans friends and its often jarring to see them parrot Republican talking points or post "Blue Lives Matter" garbage on Facebook. I've had to unfriend a few.
posted by AFABulous at 9:11 AM on October 25, 2016 [3 favorites]

gonna send this to my roommate right now! she's in her first year at UCSF and is assigned to the VA's transgender clinic and loves it so far
posted by burgerrr at 9:54 AM on October 25, 2016 [5 favorites]

the VA's transgender clinic

There's a long way to go, but if you'd told me twenty years ago that I would read this phrase some day, I would likely have laughed at you.
posted by Etrigan at 10:11 AM on October 25, 2016 [13 favorites]

The other takeaway, buried deep in the WaPo article, is that:

Lifting the ban would make the VA consistent with Medicare, the government program that funds health care primarily for the elderly. Medicare has covered gender-reassignment surgery for two years. For Medicaid, which provides care for low income people, the operation is a state-by-state decision.

My source at the Portland, Oregon VA points out that the city has the highest trans population in the country currently (no other source provided) because the Oregon Health Plan covers trans surgeries. The OHP has only offered such coverage for the past 22 months.

If the VA starts offering such services, it will also be interesting because they are very concerned with preventative and coordinated care. There might actually be solid data on the cost savings of soldiers who are not depressed and repressed.

Finally, the really interesting takeaway would be if military hospitals followed suit, offering trans services for active-duty personnel (hormone therapy at least).
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 10:17 AM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

I joined the USAF to be a man.

Laff if you will .. but I ended up in combat control for a few years.

Protip: it doesn't work.
posted by dwbrant at 11:31 AM on October 25, 2016 [3 favorites]

Thank you AFABulous for introducing me to the phrase "gender-confirming surgery".
posted by the antecedent of that pronoun at 6:02 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

It's a really great phrase, because for us, that's exactly what it is.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:15 PM on October 25, 2016

I personally hate the phrase, and find it vague enough to be more confusing than useful most of the time.
posted by Dysk at 5:10 AM on October 26, 2016 [1 favorite]

Gender-affirming would strike me as much less problematic than gender-confirming (though GAS isn't the nicest acronym!), but I still vastly prefer the matter-of-fact descriptive genital reconstruction surgery in any case (at least when I'm not making silly jokes about having had downstairs renovated. By a surgeon.)
posted by Dysk at 6:03 AM on October 26, 2016

(Though of course, gender affirming/confirming surgery is a much larger category than genital reconstruction surgery, including mastectomy/breast augmentation, FFS, tracheal shaves, etc. I can't help but feel that a more neutral descriptive term would be better than one so inherently loaded with a sense of bodily or physical essentialism though.)
posted by Dysk at 7:29 AM on October 26, 2016

An interesting article about the post-DADT military, featuring a trans airman and an O. Henry-esque twist near the end.
posted by Etrigan at 7:56 AM on October 27, 2016 [2 favorites]

I don't have all the details, and this might not apply so much to the military, but I think it's important to note that a lot of protections for transgender people are coming directly from Obama's executive branch, and can be undone and rewritten by a new president without any real obstacle. This is the best argument you can make to convince people that elections matter. There's a list here* of various things Obama's people have done to help LGBTQ people. Some trans-specific examples:

In June 2010, the Department of State revised the standards for changing a gender marker on a passport, making the process less burdensome for transgender people.*

In January 2010, OPM added gender identity to the equal employment opportunity policy governing all federal jobs. In September 2011, OPM issued additional guidance to federal managers regarding the equal treatment of transgender workers.*

In June 2011, the Department of Veterans Affairs published a directive establishing a policy of respectful delivery of healthcare to transgender and intersex veterans in all VA healthcare facilities.

In August 2012, the Federal Aviation Administration released new certification procedures eliminating burdensome, additional psychological testing for transgender pilots.

In June 2014, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced it was removing the exclusion of transition-related health services for Federal Employee Health Benefits plans (FEHB).*

In June 2013, the Social Security Administration announced a new policy modernizing and standardizing the process for changing the gender designation in Social Security records. This new policy allows transgender people to maintain their privacy and prevents unnecessary outing to Social Security staff and to healthcare providers. Under the revised policy, transgender people are able to change their gender on their Social Security records by submitting either government-issued documentation that reflects a change, or certification from a physician that confirms that they have received clinical treatment for gender transition.

And these things are vulnerable. Presidential Memoranda, DOJ opinions, policy changes -- the federal response to North Carolina's HB2 bill, if I recall, involved a set of guidelines, and a Title IX lawsuit? When we get a new attorney general, they can drop that lawsuit on day one, just because they want to. Executive orders can be cancelled on a whim. They can write new policy and new guidelines, the same way Obama's people did. No debate, no comment period, no calling your congressman, no vote.

Same-sex marriage - being a Supreme Court decision, and having like 70% support - is much more secure in comparison, and I'm still nervous about it. The protections that trans people have gained are built on hot air. And until we get something through Congress, we're depending entirely on a friendly Democrat winning the White House.

*(By the way, if anyone knows where I can find coverage of this, I'd appreciate it. I don't like using the HRC as a source, but my Google results are being dominated by HB2.)
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 2:39 PM on October 28, 2016 [1 favorite]

Here it is straight from the OPM horse's mouth: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/diversity-and-inclusion/reference-materials/gender-identity-guidance/

In 2015, OPM eliminated transgender exclusions in healthcare policies for federal workers. (Transgender Law Center)

In 2016, "the federal department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights has issued final regulations on Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. The rule makes clear that health care discrimination against LGBT people—particularly transgender and gender non-conforming people—is unlawful under existing federal law." (source - PDF) (This is a huuuuge deal because it eliminates trans exclusions in all plans that receive any federal funding, like all plans on the marketplace.)
posted by AFABulous at 7:58 AM on October 29, 2016 [1 favorite]