Despite the 2011 repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t” tell, which prohibited gay men and lesbians from openly serving in the armed services, current U.S. military policy allows for the dismissal of transgender service members. The Defense Department, however, is increasingly facing pressure to revoke the policy, the Washington Post reported last week. As Pride Week comes to a close, The Dartmouth chatted with women’s and gender studies professor Michael Bronski about the issue and possibilities for reform.
What has or hasn’t changed since the 2011 repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy?
MB: I think many people don’t realize that the policy, which was passed by Bill Clinton, was actually a compromise because before then, gay men and lesbians were completely banned from the military. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would let them stay in the military as long as they were silent. But there was no reason to think that the repeal of DADT would affect transgender people at all — it is not a surprise that transgender people are still being persecuted in the military.
Transgender people are being discriminated against in all different ways, but that’s not going to change until we have a law that specifically protects transgender people. Many legal theorists say that a new anti-discrimination policy should include transgender people and gender non-conforming minorities, not just sexual minorities like gays, lesbians and bisexuals.
Do you think the U.S. will be able to institute a law allowing openly transgender people to remain in the armed forces alongside openly gay and lesbian service members?
MB: The armed forces have to actually update their policies. Will they be able to do this? There was a huge fight around allowing gay men and lesbians to remain in the military. I think culturally, we’re at the moment to repeal the discriminatory policy against transgender people, but the bottom line here is that transgender people and gender-nonconforming people face a much broader hostility in our culture than gays and lesbians. It’s going to be much harder and I think a much steeper battle for transgender people to break through in our society and get the protection that they need.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
