Transgender Troops On Protecting Their Right To Serve

By Kathryn Fink

Published November 29, 2021 at 11:28 AM EST

Activists participate in a rally at the Reflecting Pool of the U.S. Capitol on April 10, 2019, to rally against the transgender military service ban.

On January 25, President Biden reversed the Trump administration’s ban on transgender people serving in the military.

But the door remains open for future administrations to reinstate it.

So what would it take to protect the ability for trans troops to serve openly?

From Lt. Col. Bree Fram and Máel Embser-Herbert in their new essay collection, With Honor and Integrity: Transgender Troops in Their Own Words:

Unlike some of the debates about the gender identity of historical figures, today’s controversy does not revolve around the authenticity of a gender presentation that differs from that assigned at birth. Rather, debates about the ability of transgender people to serve in the military seem to center on arguments about whether they can do so without their presence negatively impacting the military. […] If we know that, in the 19th century, at least some of those assigned female at birth were — even when that status was revealed — recognized as having made valuable and honorable contributions to the nation through their service, why is this even an issue in the 21st century?

We talk with active duty trans service members about life in the military — and what it would take to protect their right to serve.