• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

CURRENT STREET EDITION

DIG 23.05 – 4/8/21

AS LONG AS POTUS ATTACKS TRANS TROOPS, AMERICA’S REAL WAR IS WITH ITSELF

Written by IRENE MONROE Posted January 29, 2019 Filed Under: COLUMNS, NEWS+OPINIONS

 

With a conservative Supreme Court on which Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito Jr., Neil Gorsuch, and Brett M. Kavanaugh have seats on the bench, it comes as no surprise that a 5-to-4 vote has revived President Donald Trump’s discriminatory policy on transgender service members, while the merits of the cases will continue to be challenged in lower courts.

 

Last year, Trump’s ban on transgender service members was delivered in his inimitable style of communicating to the American public—in the form of a tweet:

 

After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.

 

If Trump had his way, he would militarily eradicate transgender people from existence. Last week, his Supreme Court delivered his wish by supporting the exclusion of transgender people. Though the court doesn’t think so; its Orwellian argument is that the discriminatory policy is not a “blanket ban” since it only targets some transgender individuals, not all:

 

The policy does allow transgender troops to serve but only if they do so in their biological sex, do not have a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria, or can show a 36-month period of “ stability” prior to military service.

 

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination in the workplace based on “race, color, religion, sex or national origin,” does not bar discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. However, former President Barack Obama expanded the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect LGBTQ Americans, including providing federal guidelines permitting transgender students to use “gender-appropriate facilities” that align with identity. Obama’s policy also opened the military to transgender service members.

 

Since Obama ended the military policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) in 2011, military medical policies have unfortunately continued to discriminate against our transgender population. Evidence has shown that the military spends five times more on erectile dysfunction medications like Viagra and Cialis than it does providing medical services for transgender troops, while the president’s binary views of gender, along with the perceived excessive cost of gender confirmation surgery, give rise to his notion that transgender healthcare is a “tremendous medical cost and disruption” to the military.

 

For example, in a July 2017 ad by the Family Research Council, Chelsea Manning is pictured next to a military jet with the question, “Which one do you want our military to be spending your tax dollars on—transgender surgeries or equipment?”

 

In November 2017, the Pentagon gave its first-ever approval for gender reassignment surgery. It should be emphasized: The medical cost for transgender troops is one-10th of 1 percent of the military’s annual medical spending.

 

Last year, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff testified before Congress on behalf of transgender troops serving openly because of no known issues resulting from it. Today, it is surprising to me that amid several wars that need every able person who wants to serve, our transgender patriots would be excluded. Back in the day, LGBT service members who served our country were either closeted about their sexual orientation or gender identity, or they were discharged under “honorable conditions” called “Fraudulent Enlistment.”

 

Military readiness is not a heterosexual, cisgender calling. The president’s ban reverts to the military’s history of intolerance eerily reminiscent of when the military did not want to integrate its ranks racially.

 

Transphobia, like racism and sexism, is dangerous in our armed forces because it thwarts the necessary emotional bonding needed amongst service members in battle, leading to underutilized human resources that would make for a robust military.

 

Our transgender service members are prepared to defend this country with their lives. Without them, America would not be able to present itself as a united front on the battlefield. The real war in America is with itself.

IRENE MONROE

Rev. Irene Monroe can be heard on the podcast and standing Boston Public Radio segment ALL REV’D UP on WGBH (89.7 FM). Monroe’s syndicated religion columns appear and the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail. She is a s a Visiting Researcher in the Religion and Conflict Transformation Program at Boston University School of Theology.

More from author
  • IRENE MONROE
    https://digboston.com/author/irene-monroe/
    WHEN PRIVATE HELL BECOMES A PUBLIC MASSACRE
  • IRENE MONROE
    https://digboston.com/author/irene-monroe/
    OPINION: GORMAN’S INAUGURATION POEM STILL HAS BLACK WOMEN TALKING
  • IRENE MONROE
    https://digboston.com/author/irene-monroe/
    THE ‘GUINEA PIG PHASE’: WHY HISTORY SPURS SOME TO QUESTION VACCINES
  • IRENE MONROE
    https://digboston.com/author/irene-monroe/
    OPINION: SOMEONE HAD TO DO IT FIRST

Filed Under: COLUMNS, NEWS+OPINIONS Tagged With: DADT, LGBTQ, military, transgender rights, Trump

WHAT’S NEW

POLITICIANS GET IN LINE TO CALL FOR BOSTON POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY

POLITICIANS GET IN LINE TO CALL FOR BOSTON POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY

PARENTS RELEASE AN ANALYSIS OF BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDRAISING INEQUITIES

PARENTS RELEASE AN ANALYSIS OF BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDRAISING INEQUITIES

IF YOU’RE SURPRISED THE BPD CODDLED AN ACCUSED MOLESTER COP, YOU’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION

IF YOU’RE SURPRISED THE BPD CODDLED AN ACCUSED MOLESTER COP, YOU’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION

PICS & RECAP: COMMUNITY CANDLE VIGIL HONORING VICTIMS OF ANTI-ASIAN VIOLENCE

PICS & RECAP: COMMUNITY CANDLE VIGIL HONORING VICTIMS OF ANTI-ASIAN VIOLENCE

CAMBRIDGE CHURCH MINISTER SPEAKS ABOUT RECENT VANDALISM OF SIGN

CAMBRIDGE CHURCH MINISTER SPEAKS ABOUT RECENT VANDALISM OF SIGN

PRESSLEY MEETS WITH LOCAL 26 WORKERS

PRESSLEY MEETS WITH LOCAL 26 WORKERS

Primary Sidebar

HEMPIRE FREEDOM PACK 25% OFF

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • VACCINE EQUITY NOW! COALITION ASKS BAKER TO ALLOCATE 20% OF NEW DOSES TO HARD HIT COMMUNITIES by SHIRA LAUCHAROEN
  • A NEW PLACE FOR MORE PEOPLE TO CALL HOME IN TOUGH TIMES by MARK EMMONS
  • rally to protest discrimination and crimes against Asian and Pacific islanders during Stop Asian Hate rally on Boston Common in Boston PICS & RECAP: “STOP ASIAN HATE BOSTON” RALLY ON THE COMMON by KEIKO HIROMI
  • IF YOU’RE SURPRISED THE BPD CODDLED AN ACCUSED MOLESTER COP, YOU’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION by CHRIS FARAONE
  • A FAREWELL TRIBUTE (OF SORTS) TO MARTY WALSH by DIG STAFF

READ CURRENT MEMBER EDITION

DIG Member 2.1 – March 2021

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG 23.05 – 4/8/21

Footer

digbos

digbos
“We’re not going to survive for 20 more years “We’re not going to survive for 20 more years if we don’t do this [move to a bigger space].” https://digboston.com/how-juliet-hit-a-100k-kickstarter-goal-in-4-days/ #restaurant #business #food #crowdfund #SomervilleMA #coronavirus #COVID19
EDITORIAL: DIGBOSTON SEEKS CLIMATE IDEAS FOR MAYOR EDITORIAL: DIGBOSTON SEEKS CLIMATE IDEAS FOR MAYOR KIM JANEY. Environmental organizations and individual activists invited to submit opinion articles for publication. https://digboston.com/editorial-digboston-seeks-climate-ideas-for-mayor-kim-janey/ #politics @boston_mayor #environment #globalwarming #climate #activist #callforsubmissions #policy #Boston #Massachusetts
“Most are some of my favorite bars or local clas “Most are some of my favorite bars or local classics that I’ve learned to love in my time living in the city. Others just have a great facade that I know would make a great drawing.” https://digboston.com/drawn-but-not-forgotten-local-artist-sketches-beloved-boston-restaurants/ #art #artist #sketch #drawing #Boston #Massachusetts #bar #restaurant
Despite #pandemic hurdles, Mass #music instructors Despite #pandemic hurdles, Mass #music instructors hit new high notes. “My #teaching has gone to another level.” https://digboston.com/the-medium-is-the-maestro/ #education #Massachusetts #coronavirus #COVID19
From the podcast to the book, Wayne Federman chron From the podcast to the book, Wayne Federman chronicles the business of joke-telling. https://digboston.com/the-history-of-stand-up-from-mark-twain-to-dave-chappelle/ #comedy #history #book #interview #Boston #Massachusetts
“I’m calling on some of you to drop by a local “I’m calling on some of you to drop by a local field office and hear what people have to say.” https://digboston.com/dear-reader-the-political-season-is-upon-us-embrace-it/ #politics #commentary #election #Massachusetts
“I think most people agree that we want our publ “I think most people agree that we want our public dollars to go to those companies that are not cutting corners.” https://digboston.com/bill-seeks-to-penalize-contractors-for-unsafe-conditions/ #politics #legislation #construction #safety #labor #Massachusetts
“It’s just shocking to me for Massachusetts, t “It’s just shocking to me for Massachusetts, the state that puts itself forward as this paragon of democracy. Those are just fundamental building blocks of a democratic society.” https://digboston.com/researchers-show-extent-of-lobbying-against-climate-bills-in-ma/ #environment #globalwarming #climate #crisis #politics #lobby #Massachusetts
I was lucky enough to get an extra #vaccine. Here’s how it went down. https://digboston.com/young-healthy-and-inoculated/ #young #youth #student #college #vaccination #publichealth #health #Boston #Massachusetts #coronavirus #COVID19
The MBTA confirmed that it will “fully fund its The MBTA confirmed that it will “fully fund its operating budget in the coming fiscal year and begin to restore cut service.” https://digboston.com/public-transit-public-good-responds-to-restoring-mbta-service/ #transportation #politics #Massachusetts
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Submissions

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]