Integrated force

Again, the military leads the way on inclusion

Recent victories for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement shouldn’t mask basic facts about the condition of transgender Americans. They still struggle to gain the same rights to bodily integrity and social inclusion that others take for granted.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said this year that he would consider allowing transgender individuals to serve openly in the military. Defense officials are now drafting a plan to accommodate transgender service personnel within six months.

The military’s policies of excluding transgender individuals and, until recently, gays and lesbians, relies on standards that the medical community has repudiated. The Pentagon repealed “don’t ask, don’t tell,” a policy that barred gay Americans from serving openly in the military, in 2010 — nearly 40 years after the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders.

Opponents of transgender acceptance point out that psychiatrists still classify gender dysphoria, or extreme discontent with one’s assigned gender, as a disorder. But that condition is treated by helping individuals live according to their preferred gender identity, not by excluding them from society. The American Medical Association says there’s no medical basis for the military’s exclusion.

While the LGBT movement makes gains in courtrooms and at the policy level, the transgender community still struggles for acceptance and basic safety. Transgender women accounted for more than 70 percent of victims of hate-based homicides in 2013, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.

Integrating such a widely misunderstood and victimized community demands more than top-down solutions such as integration in the armed forces. Transgender inclusion calls for greater awareness and understanding.