Thai Transwomen No Longer Considered 'Insane' By Military

While United States transpeople are gearing up for a battle to openly serve in the military long since won in other nations such as Canada, Israel, Spain, the Czech Republic and Australia, our Thai transsisters recently won one just to not be labeled insane by their military for being themselves. 

In Thailand all males starting at age 21 until age 30 are entered into a subscription lottery to serve two years in the military.   Because as of now in Thailand you aren't allowed to change the gender designation on your ID cards, they also include transwomen in that military draft lottery as well. 

If your trans and don't want to be in the army, you fear your number being called more than anyone for various reasons.

When you're living as a transwoman and you win this lottery, that's problematic  Not only do you have to spend the next two years of your life in military service, it means enduring a medical entrance exam in which they have you take off your shirt and measure your chest in full public view on Military Conscription Day.  No thanks to modern communications technology, photos of those transpeople's chests end up on the Net the next day. 

To mitigate the embarassment to transpeople and protect the draft ritual, several years ago trans inductees examinations were moved into a private room, but the harassment continued.  Having your long hair cut and you being denuded of the very femininity you spent years building up when you didn't want to be in the military in the first place is traumatic to the transwoman as well.
 

To add to your drama, your posting could range anywhere from a dull military duty one to patrolling the southern Thailand-Malaysia border engaged in fighting in the seven year conflict against Islamic insurgents that has killed over 4,500 people. The insurgents also have a penchant for beheading troops they encounter. 

In practice, Thai transwomen are rarely inducted into military service and are rejected as 'unfit for military service' for having 'malformed chests'.  But one of the other things that have been causing distress for Thai transwomen who have been called up for military service and rejected is having 'mental disorder' or 'permanently insane' written into their permanent military record.

That designation messes with your job prospects, and despite the 'Land of Smiles' international reputation as a trans friendly place, there are still transphobic elements of Thai society who engage in discrimination against transpeople.

Thai transwoman and Bangkok resident Samart 'Sweetwater' Meecharoen discovered this the hard way in 2006. After the insane' label on her 2005 conscription military records destroyed a promising job interview, she sued the Ministry of Defense over it

The designation not only hurt her employment wise, it messed with her ability to open bank accounts in Thailand and getting a visa to travel to other nations.

After relentless activism since 2006 instigated by her over this issue, the Thai military has agreed to stop labeling the records of trans inductees they dismiss in that manner.   They proposed substituting 'gender identity disorder' for it, but human rights group nixed that one as well.  

The Thai military will now use a classification system that shows draftees as either Type 1, Type 2 or Type 3 in addition to amending the part of nation's Conscription Act of 1954 that states transgender people are exempt from conscription because they are considered psychologically abnormal .  

Type 2 will refer to draftees who have undergone breast augmentation, and Type 3 will refer to draftees who have had SRS.   However, if the number of Type 1 drafees is insufficient for Thai military force requirements, they will take Type 2 people.  

Thai transpeople have been able to serve in their military since 2003 and it seems that some continued activism is needed on this issue. It would allow the Thai military to fulfill its needs for conscripts and Thai transwomen who end up being drafted to spend their two years of service serving their nation honorably, openly, proudly and without harassment.  

Upcoming Trans Day Of Silence On DADT Repeal Day

TransGriot Note: DADT goes bye bye this month.  But there's one segment of the community who once again will be Left Behind as the GL segment of the community gets civil rights that the trans community as Autumn Sandeen demonstrated helped them fight for.   TAVA President Monica Helms in this guest post talks about the moment of silence being organized to remind the GL community and our allies the fight for transpeople to serve openly in our military isn't over.  

September 20, 2011 will go down as one of the most pivotal days in LGB history. On that day, gay, lesbian and bisexual service members will no longer have to hide their sexual orientation from the US military. LGB people will be allowed to enlist (or reenlist) in the military, and those already serving will be able to openly say who they love if they wish to.


However, for the trans community, September 20 will be a bittersweet day. The “sweet” will be because we will all be thrilled to see another wall of discrimination crumble into history. We will celebrate along with our LGB brothers and sisters, and thank all of those who have served our country proudly. Our thanks will also go out to those who will step forward to join their ranks. Tears of joy will flow that day from all of us.

The “bitter” part comes when the celebration is over and trans people will still face discrimination from the US military. Trans service members will be ejected because the military says we have a “psychosexual condition,” which they put in the same category as “exhibitionism, transvestism, voyeurism, and other paraphilias.” No trans-identified person will be allowed to enlist for the same reason.

The Transgender American Veterans Association want to first congratulate all the people who worked tirelessly on getting Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repealed and helped the Administration and the Department of Defense to smoothly integrate LGB people into the services. Our members worked alongside LGB people to put this terrible law to rest and we are proud to see our work not go in vain.

On this day of celebration, TAVA has one request for all of those who will be cheering and partying. We ask that everyone take a moment of silence to acknowledge that the fight is not over. A moment of silence for all of those trans people who will still face discharge when being outed.

Take a moment to remember the trans people who gave their lives in silence to protect this country. TAVA stands in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in celebrating this historical day. All we ask is for them to stand in solidarity with the trans community in our struggle to end ALL discrimination in the US military. The fight is not over.

By selecting "Attending" on this it means that you are committing to holding a Moment of Silence at any celebration you attend on September 20, 2011. This moment is to honor our trans service members who still won't be able to serve openly. Thank you.

Canada Allows Trans People To Openly Serve- What's Wrong With The US Military?

As the existence of the Transgender American Veterans Association is irrefutable proof of, transpeople have proudly served in all branches of our nation's military.  

Christine Jorgenson was in the Army before transition. Much of the early leadership in our trans community was provided by people who took the lessons they learned in serving our country and translated them into organizing and serving our community when their service to their particular service branch was done. 

While we still fight tooth and nail in the United States just for the right to serve our country openly, there are six other nations on the planet that allow transpeople to serve in their armed forces.

Australia, Israel, the Czech Republic, Spain and Thailand not only allow transgender soldiers to serve but also support them through diversity programs.   The other nation that does so is our northern neighbor..

While the Canadian Armed Forces have been dealing with the issue of trans soldiers since Sgt. Sylvia Durand transitioned in 1998, they only just got around to making the necessary policy changes.

Back in December the Canadian Armed Forces issued a policy manual change that chronicles how they will accommodate trans soldiers. Soldiers, sailors and air force personnel who undergo a gender change have a right to privacy and respect around that decision, but must conform to the dress code of their target gender..

Cpl. Natalie Murray recently completed a gender transition and serves as an IT tech at a Canadian Armed Forces base in eastern Ontario.   She said during a CBC radio interview, “There shouldn’t be any issue at all. We’re just regular people doing a regular job, the same job as everybody else.”


So what's holding up the United States from doing so?   Transbigotry?  Lack of info?   The fact it's a rabidly conservative testosterone driven segment of our society?   

I find it bitterly ironic that the US military will recruit white supremacists or functionally illiterate people but a transperson is considered 'administratively unfit'.   Go figure that one out. 


Cpl. Murray was dead on target.  We're just patriotic Americans who want the opportunity to not only serve in our country's military, it's past time for our armed forces to allow qualified transpeople to serve just like any other citizen that wishes to sign up for military service.

Love To Our TBLG Veterans

Today is Veterans Day, and wanted to take a moment to show some love and mad respect to our TBLG veterans who served our country honorably and well.

One of the things that many people aren't aware of is that Christine Jorgenson, the first transperson to get widespread media coverage in the 50's, was an Army veteran.


Many of those trans vets have served in conflicts ranging from the Korean War to the Gulf ones, and have no doubt there are probably trans vets serving in Afghanistan right now. 

Once they have left the military they continue to use the leadership skills they acquired in their various branches of service  and use them to benefit the BTLG community by providing leadership for it.


There is even an organization for trans veterans called TAVA, the Transgender American Veterans Association which advocates for the issues germane to trans military vets and the community at large.

But this day is not only to thank the people who put their lives on the line to serve our country, but to also remember those who gave them on distant battlefields.

So yes, much love to our TBLG veterans, and here's hoping that the odious DADT policy becomes a distant memory as well.
 

Australian Defense Forces Dropping Ban On Trans Military Service

19 years after they dropped the ban on gay and lesbian Aussies being able to serve in the Australian Defence Forces, according to the Advocate.com the desire of a ADF soldier to transition has led to the dropping of a ban against trans Australians being able to militarily serve their country.

Nations such as Canada, Israel, the Czech Republic, Spain and Thailand allow transgender soldiers to serve but also support them through diversity programs.

The policy is scheduled to become effective in December. ADF Chief Angus Houston said commanders must “manage ADF transgender personnel with fairness, respect, and dignity ... and existing medical review provisions; and ensure all personnel are not subjects to unacceptable behavior.”

Okay, so when is my nation going to join the rest of the world, much less our next door neighbor in terms of allowing transpeople who are willing to put their lives on the line to serve our nation to do so?