Brian Stone
U.S. Navy veteran and gay-rights advocate
Nail Polish Wars: The Truth About Transgender Service
Posted: 10/05/2012 4:09 pm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-stone/nail-polish-wars-the-truth-about-transgender-service_b_1934410.htmlBack in 2011 I met a young transgender sailor, Ayden, who was born male but feels she was meant to be female. Now that she's discharged, I can tell her story. It's a story that paints the landscape of transgender issues in the military, which are alive and well long after the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
Ayden was a Navy corpsman who spent most of her career delivering babies. She got a quick lesson in the three things military personnel share with the fashion industry:
They care way too much about hair and clothes.
They spend months learning how to "walk."
Getting the job done is almost as important as feeling respected.
For the male-dominated, hypersexualized culture of the military, Ayden was not "fitting their look." Despite the fact that she never officially changed her sex and conformed to dress regulations at work, there was a lot of angst about her runway-style walk, her feminine voice, and her cross dressing after working hours.
