The Pros And Cons Of Transgenders In The Military

June 30th 2016, Rizzo & Cohen, (2016) with CNN wrote a piece on Defense Secertary Ash Carters’ decision to allow transgender individual to enlist, commission, and sereve openly in the U.S. Military. This order also allows hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery if medically reccomended. It is estimated that there are 15,000 transgender individuals currently serving in the U.S. military, according to a recent study by the Williams Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles Law School. The policy also states that any transgender joining the forces must have 18 months of stability in their new gender.

The negative stereotypes regarding transgender people serving in the military are rooted in envy towards the values that the nation’s founding fathers instilled. Since America was founded, the mission of the country’s good will towards protecting its prosperity relies on the strength of the military. The Army represents some of America’s most confident citizens who are capable of upholding the norms of society through their service. Soldiers are expected to establish a sense of honor and integrity, which makes their commitment to a stable sense of self the driving force of their service to their country. Soldiers must command respect from all citizens of American and other nations. A Soldier’s professional appearance along with his or

Gender coding is not a natural or biological characteristic. People are born with different physical and biological characteristics, but make sense of their gender roles through cultural influences. “Stereotypes are amazingly powerful, and we may not realize the degree to which our thoughts, beliefs, and actions are shaped by them” (Silverman, Rader, 2010). Boys and girls are labeled as masculine or feminine, which is considered the “norm” for society. Children are not born masculine or feminine, they learn these roles from parents, peers, media, and even religion. Concepts of gender identity are sometimes placed on children even before their birth, such as with the selection of paint colors for the nursery.” Children begin to form concepts of gender beginning around the age of 2, and most children know if they are a boy or girl by age of 3” (Martin & Ruble, 2004). From an early age, children are encouraged to identify with gender coding. Gender is formed at birth, but self-identification as being male or female is imbedded into their minds by parents and society. A child learns to understand their gender role and their identity by what is taught and expressed to them by others. Yet as a child grows, gender coding can cause cultural confusion, and insecurity issues throughout the course of their life.

Banning transgenders from serving in the military contradicts civil liberties. The government would be in violation of that law because it protects the rights of citizens. The U.S. Constitution does state in the first 10 amendments, which is the Bill of rights was designed to protect the citizen’s rights and freedom. Transgenders is a choice, a person’s choice, much like religion. The government has no authority to intervene on a personal free choice as free citizen. Banning transgenders from serving in the military is considered a form of discrimination and violates the Bill of Rights. Power is limited on the government and denies the right to interfere with a citizen’s personal choices.

According to the opposing group, the presence of LGBT people in the military undermines the trust among soldiers and can reduce the overall effectiveness of the military. While they think all who want to serve the military should, they also think not all of them are able to. One says there are certain qualifications and expectations in the military and if you are transitioning or

How the Military is classifying Transgender and the process to undergo for a Transgender to change the service member’s gender.

Sociologist Dalton Conley wrote his book, You May Ask Yourself, addressing how “gender is a social construction” that is so normal for society to think how a man or woman should act towards the public. Society often categorizes roles that females and males are suppose to play in, but not only are they categorized they are also being taught what their gender role is suppose to do. The beginning of gender socialization can start with a child who is not born yet by simply having the parents purchase items that are all pink if its expected to be a girl, but if its expected to be a boy then everything they purchase will be blue. Conley states that gender roles are “sets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany ones’ status as male or female” (Conley [2008] 2013:134). So even when a child is growing into their infant years, toys are made specifically for their gender. By examining how social construction places gender in categories it becomes apparent that males and females get differentiated a lot which emphasizes inequality between them.

Thousands of men and women in this country make the courageous decision to serve in the military. Imagine having the bravery and patriotism to willingly be put into danger in order to protect your country. Many brave, intrepid people, however, are no longer able to make this decision, simply because of their gender identity. On July 26, 2017, President Trump announced a ban on transgender individuals serving in the U.S. military, restricting thousands of possible heroes from willingly defending their country. The ban on transgender service members is an egregiously discriminatory act and should be effaced immediately.

The 2016 election was a turning point for many individuals in the United States, not least of which were members of the LGBT community. In mid-July, President Trump made an announcement over Twitter that resulted in upheaval and uncertainty for those serving in the military: transgender soldiers would no longer be allowed to serve in the military in any capacity. The ban of transgender troops in the military, made in a highly unorthodox manner, should have no major financial repercussions but may cause many social issues. While the decision has caused open turmoil in the Pentagon and the LGBT community, it is still unofficial.

In 2016, former president, Barack Obama lifted the ban of transgenders being in the military. Now the question comes up, should transgender be allowed in the military? This is a very “touchy” topic as when discussed in verbal debates, situations can become pretty heated. Recently, current president, Donald Trump reversed the decision and put the ban back on as he made the announcement on Twitter saying, the military does not need to be “burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgenders in the military would entail.” (Caceres). Several members of the military have voiced their opinions on why they think transgenders should be allowed in with no problem.

After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you. (@realDonaldTrump)

Transgender Soldiers serving in the US Military. In Army Directive 2016-35, Army Policy on Military Service of Transgender Soldiers, it states that as long as a Soldier is qualified for duty, he or she may be openly transgender without fear of “involuntary separation, discharge or denied reenlistment or continuation of service soley on the basis of the Soldier’s gender identity” (Secretary of the Army, 2016).

Gender construction is associated with society’s expectations of human beings based on their biological sex. Before humans are born, they are already classified as boys or girls through a sonogram. In Reading Lessons, An Introduction to Theory, Scott Carpenter explains that “gender has served as the primary human sorting feature since time immemorial” (89). In addition, children’s behaviors are developed from the fairy tales and characters from the cartoons that they watch. Boys are more likely to become superheroes while girls are encouraged to be pretty like Disney’s princess characters such as Snow White and Cinderella (Carpenter 92). Thus, girls are more focused on their physical appearance than boys. The different roles that actors and actresses play and the identification of men and women or boys and girls in movies, fairy tales, and the society influence people to expect what men and women should do and how they should live to get the ideal type for their gender roles.

Throughout centuries of generations, there have been many changes that have influenced sexual tolerance. Sexual tolerance is defined as “the acceptance of multiple sexual orientations and lifestyles, generally accompanied by the appropriate legal and civil rights” (Urban Dictionary, 2009). Though there have been improvements in tolerance, there are still many different views on the recent policies, laws or social trends occurring towards sexual and gender orientation. Every aspect of society, from the Department of Defense to local school departments, are beginning to adapt to this growth in gender identity and orientation. An article published by the New York Times (Rosenberg, 2016) addresses an uprising policy on the acceptance of

Just a year ago, transgenders were given the right to freely serve in the military, but now Donald Trump took away their ability to do so. On July 26, Trump tweeted, “ Our military must be forced on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.” (Trump) He has called these certain soldiers a burden because the costs are going to medical purposes instead of strengthening the military. Although this may be true to an extent, it is not a very reasonable reason to take away their right to serve. A study has shown that the treatments would cost, “... we expect only a 0.13-percent ($8.4 million out of $6.2 billion) increase in health care spending… By contrast, total military