Intersex people and military service in the United States

Intersex people and military service in the United States
This is an image created by intersex activist Mx. Anunnaki Ray Marquez for the official Transgender/Intersex Civil Rights Community and is meant to honor trans and intersex veterans. The intersex flag can be seen on the right.

The regulations regarding the service of intersex people in the United States Armed Forces are vague and not always consistent due to the broad nature of humans with intersex conditions. The United States Armed Forces as a whole does not officially ban intersex people from service but does exclude many based on the form of their status.

Policies and treatment

People born with different genital anatomy, are largely excluded from military service, this practise is believed to first have been introduced in 1961, together with a ban on transvestites.[1] According to a 2007 report from the Michael D. Palm Center, there is a long list of disqualifying genital differences, both male and female, that are used to bar individuals from service. For example, having one undescended testicle, can make a man ineligible for service.[2]

Enclosure 4 of "Induction in the Military Services; dated April 10, 2010" instruction, entitled "Medical Standards For Appointment, Enlistment, Or Induction", is the one that identifies the preclusion of some intersex people from serving in the military.

  • Paragraph 14. (Female Genitalia), subparagraph e.:
History of major abnormalities or defects of the genitalia such as change of sex (P64.5) (CPT 55970, 55980), hermaphroditism, pseudohermaphroditism, or pure gonadal digenesis (752.7).[3]
  • Paragraph 15. (Male Genitalia), subparagraph l.:
History of major abnormalities or defects of the genitalia such as change of sex (P64.5) (CPT 55970, 55980), hermaphroditism, pseudohermaphroditism, or pure gonadal dysgenesis (752.7).[3]

According to The Crimson so is the military's preoccupation with genital differences that in no way compromise an individual's health or ability to serve is explicitly discriminatory.[2] Despite the steady increase in other queer members of the military since the repeal of Don't ask, don't tell, intersex people have not made as much progress. Military medical policies prevent still prevent intersex people from serving uncloseted.[4] The military does despite this provide some surgeries for intersex people which they deem "medically necessary" instead of merely "cosmetic".[5] The Veterans Health Administration distinguishes between surgeries for transgender individuals and intersex persons. In 2015 this allowed intersex persons to receive medically necessary treatment that was prohibited for transgender people.[6][7] This was due to the belief that intersex surgery caused "fewer practical concerns".[8] On the other hand, so can previous surgeries on the genitalia before service, something many intersex people suffer as infants and , give the military right to get rid of someone.[9] The acceptance of transgender individuals in 2016 by the armed forces did not touch on intersex people and they are still subject to specific reviews before enlistment, like before.[10][11]

The updated version of DoDI 6130.03's genital guidelines are as follows:

  • Female Genitalia:
History of major abnormalities or defects of the genitalia, such as hermaphroditism, pseudohermaphroditism, or pure gonadal dysgenesis.
  • Male Genitalia:
History of major abnormalities or defects of the genitalia such as hermaphroditism, pseudohermaphroditism, or pure gonadal dysgenesis.[12]

The subsequent attempt at banning of transgender troops by President Donald Trump in 2017 also did not touch on the state of intersex personnel and it was unclear if would have any intended or unintended effects on them.[13]

Intersex activist and Navy veteran Dana Zzyym who grew up as a military brat has expressed that their family's military background made it out of the question for them to be associated with the queer community as a youth due to the homophobia which they think ran deep in the armed forces at the time. Zzyym's parents hid Zzyyms status as intersex from them and Zzyym had to discover their identity and the surgeries their parents had approved for them by themselves after their Navy service.[14] Zzyym is the first veteran to be issued a gender neutral passport.[15]

Opinions

In 2010 Republican representative Duncan D. Hunter implied that intersex people were always banned from service.[16][17] This claim was contradicted by a veteran who stated that they were allowed to serve openly and be deployed to Desert Storm as an intersex woman.[18] Activist Autumn Sandeen replied to Hunter in one of her blogs that "perhaps this may be news to Rep. Hunter, but intersex conditions are not a sexual preference; I'm pretty damn sure too that intersex people are already allowed to serve in the military".[19] In contrast another response to Hunter was from Choire Sicha of The Awl who stated that "intersex people aren’t welcome to serve, but no one’s quite sure how and why" but did not elaborate on if they believed this referred to all conditions or just vissible ones.[20] Hunter included intersex people on his list of other queer groups which he also believed to be unfit for service, including trans people and non-hetrosexuals.[16][17] When speaking about the subject he referred to them by the outdated term "hermaphrodites", which drew criticism from several intersex advocates and allies. The comments were also mocked on the NPR comedy news show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! which joked about his opinion on the subject, claiming that including intersex people would be advantageous to the military, since they could "pursue enemies into both men’s and women’s restrooms". This joke was poorly received by some, including writers of ShadowProof, who stated that it was both insulting to intersex people and a play on the negative stereotype of trans people as potential bathroom sexual predators,[21] and Queerty.[22]

In 2007 the Palm Center released a report that found that most of the military's beliefs about intersex medical requirements were myths and that neither intersex nor transgender peoples medical problems posed any barrier to effective service.[23] The study also argues that the rigidity of sexual difference, gender roles, and sexuality are "becoming increasingly less absolute," which could raise questions regarding the admission, retention, training, housing and other services of intersex individuals in the armed forces.[24] Publications by the United States National Center for Biotechnology Information recommends that intersex individuals be allowed to serve in the armed forces, but not combat units.[25]

Veterans

Intersex veterans are entitled to "medically necessary" surgeries.[5][6][7] When transgender people were barred from sex reassignment surgery so were intersex people despite already having both male and female characteristics. This meant that someone who was in the military presenting as male in their records could not transition to a female identity with help from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs even if they were always predominantly female in all but writing.[26]

By service

United States Air Force

Many U.S. Air Force recruiters think that intersex people should be disqualified from service due to "the expected increased demand for medical treatments"[25] but intersex persons are still allowed to serve in the Civil Air Patrol.[20]

United States Army

In the U.S. Army and the official policy is that individuals who identify as intersex or have other sex-related disorders are medically problematic and/or psychologically disturbed; hence, they are not eligible to serve.[25]

United States Coast Guard

Intersex people are allowed to serve in the Coast Guard Auxiliary[20] but they have to pick either "male" or "female" on their records.[27]

United States Marine Corps

The USMC has the same official standing as the Army, which disqualifies intersex people as well as previously transgender people from service.[25]

United States Navy

Many U.S. Air Force recruiters believe that intersex people should be disqualified from service due to expecting that they will cause increased demand for medical treatment.[25]

ROTC

The Reserve Officers' Training Corps is obliged to follow the guidelines set by the regular military,[2] and has rejected intersex youth because of it.[28] This and their exclusion of transgender people has lead to criticism from and of schools such as Harvard which did not allow the ROTC until Don't ask, don't tell was repealed in 2010 but wellcomed them afterwards.[29] The critics argues that the return of the ROTC to campus violates the schools non-discrimination clause.[30][31][32]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Belkin, Aaron (June 28, 2016). "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Why The US Military's Transgender Ban Unraveled So Quickly" (PDF).
  2. 1 2 3 Bakkila, Samuel; Hui Lee, Jia (January 28, 2011). "Continued Discrimination in ROTC". The Harvard Crimson. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Sandeen, Autumn (2011-05-05). "A Reminder About Those In LGBT Community Who Won't Be Able To Serve When DADT Repeal Is Implemented". Shadowproof. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  4. ↑ Research Handbook of Expatriates; 309
  5. 1 2 Life Course Perspectives on Military Service; 117
  6. 1 2 Evan, Young (December 5, 2015). "Does VA distinguish between transsexual gender-confirmation surgery and intersex surgery?". transveteran.org.
  7. 1 2 Steve, Williams (June 13, 2011). "VHA Issues New Directive on Trans and Intersex Veteran Health Care". care2.com.
  8. ↑ "Report of the Task Force on Military Engagement" (PDF). March 4, 2011.
  9. ↑ http://www.religioustolerance.org/hommilitrans.htm
  10. ↑ Taylor, Tavis J.; Bell, Shaquita (March 2017). "Evolving two spirit awareness and roles in native and non native communities" (PDF).
  11. ↑ Inclusion in the American Military: A Force for Diversity; 163
  12. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20180927085621/https://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmotc/nami/arwg/Documents/WaiverGuide/DODI_6130.03_JUL12.pdf
  13. ↑ https://gitensteininstitute.hofstra.edu/2086-2/
  14. ↑ Intersex - My Body, My Rights! (Video). YouTube. August 31, 2014.
  15. ↑ Goldberg, Barbara (September 20, 2018). "U.S. Court rules for Colorado 'intersex' veteran denied passport". Reuters.
  16. 1 2 Polacek, Summer (2010-02-10). "Gender, Sexuality and Joining the Military". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  17. 1 2 Smith, Ben (February 3, 2010). "The great hermaphrodites-in-the-military debate". POLITICO. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  18. ↑ "Attn: Rep Hunter, Intersex People CAN Serve in the Military". Feministing. February 7, 2010. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  19. ↑ Finkelstein, Matt (February 3, 2010). "Rep. Hunter Warns Against Opening The Military To "Transgenders" And "Hermaphrodites"". Political Correction. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  20. 1 2 3 Sicha, Choire (February 3, 2010). "DADT: And Then They Came For The Hermaphrodites". The Awl. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  21. ↑ Sandeen, Autumn (2010-02-08). "Wait, Wait, Please Do Tell Us, NPR, What Is So Funny About Intersexed People?". Shadowproof. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  22. ↑ Villarreal, Daniel (2010-02-09). "Trans Soldiers Are a Terrorist Bathroom Joke to NPR. But What About Real-Life T-roops?". Queerty. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  23. ↑ Dennett, Harley (2010-09-15). "Let them serve: Defence drops ban on transgender soldiers". Crikey. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  24. ↑ "Palm Center Releases Study on Gender Identity in U.S. Military" (Press release). May 31, 2007. Archived from the original on July 7, 2007. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 Marom, Tal; Itskoviz, David; Ostfeld, Ishay (November 2008). "Intersex patients in military service". Military Medicine. 173 (11): 1132–1135. doi:10.7205/MILMED.173.11.1132. ISSN 0026-4075. PMID 19055190.
  26. ↑ Abrahams, Tom (December 3, 2014). "Veteran born with male and female anatomy wants VA to pay for surgery". ABC13 Houston. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  27. ↑ Tsoulis-Reay, Alexa (September 15, 2015). "What It's Like to Be an Intersex Nudist". The Cut. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  28. ↑ "A human rights investigation into the medical "normalization" of intersex people" (PDF). April 28, 2005.
  29. ↑ Balasubramanian, Janani (February 3, 2011). "LETTER: ROTC Discriminates Against Transgender People". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  30. ↑ "SSQL'S ROTC Argument". ssql.stanford.edu. Stanford Students for Queer Liberation. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  31. ↑ McCarthy, Timothy Patrick (September 26, 2012). "After DADT Repeal: Choosing Our Battles". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  32. ↑ "Moving Forward with the Military". The Harvard Crimson. March 8, 2011. Retrieved 2018-09-28.

Further reading

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