“Welcome! Oh, wait…” Transgender Military Service in a Time of Uncertainty

Abstract

In 2014, the Department of Defense began a broad review of transgender military service. Following this review, in 2016, the Obama Administration announced a policy of transgender inclusion in the military. However, in 2017, before enactment of that policy, President Trump announced the reinstatement of a ban on transgender military service. Although, in the last five years, these events have garnered much media attention, sociologists have generally left them unexplored. In this article, I begin the process of incorporating transgender military experience into sociological discussions by examining how transgender service members navigate their uncertain status vis-a-vis military service. In so doing, I explore how transgender personnel might be "doing transgender" (Connell, Gender & Society 24(1):31) in the context of shifting norms about who can and cannot officially exist within the ranks of the military as well as possibilities for future research examining transgender military experience more broadly.

Disparities in Documented Drug Use Disorders Between Transgender and Cisgender U.S. Veterans Health Administration Patients

“…For example, transgender veterans are likely to have experienced military sexual trauma, 42 and exposure to former and current Department of Defense policies barring transgender soldiers from openly serving in the military are unique stressors. 43,44 Additionally, transgender veterans who receive VA healthcare may have different experiences than those who do not, as trauma and discrimination experienced during military service may prevent some transgender veterans from seeking VA care. 45 This study may therefore be limited in generalizability to VA patients; however, we observed similar prevalence of drug use disorders among transgender VA patients compared to a prior study of transgender patients in non-VA U.S. healthcare systems.…”

“…When interpreting these findings, it is important to consider how lived experiences of transgender veterans may differ from transgender nonveterans in ways that may impact gender minority stress and subsequent risk of drug use disorders. For example, transgender veterans are likely to have experienced military sexual trauma, 42 and exposure to former and current Department of Defense policies barring transgender soldiers from openly serving in the military are unique stressors 43,44 . Additionally, transgender veterans who receive VA healthcare may have different experiences than those who do not, as trauma and discrimination experienced during military service may prevent some transgender veterans from seeking VA care 45 .…”

Gender Category and Gender Status: A Critical Distinction

“…My conceptualization of gender status is more similar to what Ashley (2021) calls “gender modality;” however, I use the term “status” because I am analytically interested in the “comparative social ranking” (Ridgeway 2019:1) between cisness and non‐cisness. “Gender status” is also a nod to multidisciplinary works that increasingly use the term “transgender status” in discussing the life chances and social experiences of non‐cis people (Bowers and Whitley 2020; Carpenter et al 2020; Doan 2016; Embser‐Herbert 2020; Schilt and Lagos 2017).…”