SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The transgender ban in the military has nothing to do with military readiness or cost -- and everything to do with bigotry and transphobia. (Photo: Shutterstock)
The Transgender Ban Is About Bigotry and Distraction
Trump's attacking service members to provoke the left, throw red meat to his base, and distract the rest from things like the shutdown
Jan 22, 2019
The Supreme Court just paved the way for Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military to move ahead, at least pending other court challenges. The ban will harm the military and help no one, while doing nothing to address the nation's real problems.
I'm neither transgender nor in the military, but I count several trans people, including trans vets, among my closest friends. I can't speak for them. I can, however, speak as their friend -- and as a sociologist who teaches about gender at the college level.
Trump cites the cost of medical care for transgender people undergoing transition as the reason for his ban. Yet many transgender people never have surgery, and those who do may wait until after they're finished serving in the military to do it.
Hormone treatments and gender confirmation surgeries for transgender service members together are estimated to cost $8.4 million annually at most -- that's five times less than the military spends on Viagra. And it's nearly 200 times less than the Department of Defense spends on health care and lost days of work due to smoking.
And yet service personnel are allowed to smoke. In fact, service members at many commands often have an entire culture built around enabling tobacco use, despite all of the costs. If this were actually about the cost of military health care, perhaps a smoking cessation program would be a better option than a transgender ban.
Neither of my friends were aware that they were transgender when they enlisted in the military. They just wanted to serve their country.
Neither transitioned while they were serving, and one didn't even realize she was trans until after she'd left the Marines. (She still works in the national security field as a civilian.) The other realized she was transgender while in the Navy and opted not to reenlist so she could transition without fear of being discharged.
Even with a ban, transgender people who haven't yet realized or come to terms with being trans will continue to enlist and serve. A ban would mean wasting resources recruiting and training service members, only to discharge qualified personnel once they came out as trans or were outed.
Kicking trans service people out of the military wouldn't only be extremely hurtful to the estimated 150,000 transgender people who have served, including 8,800 who are currently on active duty. It would also be a waste of money and disruptive to the entire military.
The transgender ban in the military has nothing to do with military readiness or cost -- and everything to do with bigotry and transphobia. Trump is using the ban purely to provoke the left, throw red meat to his base, and distract us all from the real issues in our nation, like the government shutdown which continues to drain resources.
Transgender people in the military put their lives on the line (and sometimes lose their lives) to protect their fellow Americans. Excluding them because of their gender identities is a twisted way to thank them for their service.
It's time to stop perpetuating hatred and distracting from real issues -- and to stop using transgender people as a national scapegoat.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
Jill Richardson
Jill Richardson is pursuing a PhD in sociology at UW-Madison, where she studies natural resources and the environment.
The Supreme Court just paved the way for Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military to move ahead, at least pending other court challenges. The ban will harm the military and help no one, while doing nothing to address the nation's real problems.
I'm neither transgender nor in the military, but I count several trans people, including trans vets, among my closest friends. I can't speak for them. I can, however, speak as their friend -- and as a sociologist who teaches about gender at the college level.
Trump cites the cost of medical care for transgender people undergoing transition as the reason for his ban. Yet many transgender people never have surgery, and those who do may wait until after they're finished serving in the military to do it.
Hormone treatments and gender confirmation surgeries for transgender service members together are estimated to cost $8.4 million annually at most -- that's five times less than the military spends on Viagra. And it's nearly 200 times less than the Department of Defense spends on health care and lost days of work due to smoking.
And yet service personnel are allowed to smoke. In fact, service members at many commands often have an entire culture built around enabling tobacco use, despite all of the costs. If this were actually about the cost of military health care, perhaps a smoking cessation program would be a better option than a transgender ban.
Neither of my friends were aware that they were transgender when they enlisted in the military. They just wanted to serve their country.
Neither transitioned while they were serving, and one didn't even realize she was trans until after she'd left the Marines. (She still works in the national security field as a civilian.) The other realized she was transgender while in the Navy and opted not to reenlist so she could transition without fear of being discharged.
Even with a ban, transgender people who haven't yet realized or come to terms with being trans will continue to enlist and serve. A ban would mean wasting resources recruiting and training service members, only to discharge qualified personnel once they came out as trans or were outed.
Kicking trans service people out of the military wouldn't only be extremely hurtful to the estimated 150,000 transgender people who have served, including 8,800 who are currently on active duty. It would also be a waste of money and disruptive to the entire military.
The transgender ban in the military has nothing to do with military readiness or cost -- and everything to do with bigotry and transphobia. Trump is using the ban purely to provoke the left, throw red meat to his base, and distract us all from the real issues in our nation, like the government shutdown which continues to drain resources.
Transgender people in the military put their lives on the line (and sometimes lose their lives) to protect their fellow Americans. Excluding them because of their gender identities is a twisted way to thank them for their service.
It's time to stop perpetuating hatred and distracting from real issues -- and to stop using transgender people as a national scapegoat.
Jill Richardson
Jill Richardson is pursuing a PhD in sociology at UW-Madison, where she studies natural resources and the environment.
The Supreme Court just paved the way for Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military to move ahead, at least pending other court challenges. The ban will harm the military and help no one, while doing nothing to address the nation's real problems.
I'm neither transgender nor in the military, but I count several trans people, including trans vets, among my closest friends. I can't speak for them. I can, however, speak as their friend -- and as a sociologist who teaches about gender at the college level.
Trump cites the cost of medical care for transgender people undergoing transition as the reason for his ban. Yet many transgender people never have surgery, and those who do may wait until after they're finished serving in the military to do it.
Hormone treatments and gender confirmation surgeries for transgender service members together are estimated to cost $8.4 million annually at most -- that's five times less than the military spends on Viagra. And it's nearly 200 times less than the Department of Defense spends on health care and lost days of work due to smoking.
And yet service personnel are allowed to smoke. In fact, service members at many commands often have an entire culture built around enabling tobacco use, despite all of the costs. If this were actually about the cost of military health care, perhaps a smoking cessation program would be a better option than a transgender ban.
Neither of my friends were aware that they were transgender when they enlisted in the military. They just wanted to serve their country.
Neither transitioned while they were serving, and one didn't even realize she was trans until after she'd left the Marines. (She still works in the national security field as a civilian.) The other realized she was transgender while in the Navy and opted not to reenlist so she could transition without fear of being discharged.
Even with a ban, transgender people who haven't yet realized or come to terms with being trans will continue to enlist and serve. A ban would mean wasting resources recruiting and training service members, only to discharge qualified personnel once they came out as trans or were outed.
Kicking trans service people out of the military wouldn't only be extremely hurtful to the estimated 150,000 transgender people who have served, including 8,800 who are currently on active duty. It would also be a waste of money and disruptive to the entire military.
The transgender ban in the military has nothing to do with military readiness or cost -- and everything to do with bigotry and transphobia. Trump is using the ban purely to provoke the left, throw red meat to his base, and distract us all from the real issues in our nation, like the government shutdown which continues to drain resources.
Transgender people in the military put their lives on the line (and sometimes lose their lives) to protect their fellow Americans. Excluding them because of their gender identities is a twisted way to thank them for their service.
It's time to stop perpetuating hatred and distracting from real issues -- and to stop using transgender people as a national scapegoat.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy