Don't Ask, Don't Tell . . . and Don't be Transgender Either
July 22nd, 2008
by Monica F. Helms
http://www.monicahelms.com/blog/veterans/don%E2%80%99t-ask-don%E2%80%99t-tell-and-don%E2%80%99t-be-transgender-either.htm(Note: Also posted on PFLAG's blog.)
For years, Don't Ask, Don't Tell has been the official witch-hunt policy that gave the US military open-ended permission to ruin the careers of any person they suspect were "homosexuals." It never had anything to do with whether the person actually acted upon their sexual orientation, or even if the person was really gay or not. It mostly stems from the Department of Defense's archaic and narrow view of what they think should be gender-normative behavior for men and women, including sexual activities. Basically, you don't have to be gay, or act gay, or be sexually active with a same-sex partner, as long as they think you're gay. They hold all the cards.
It's the famous oxymoron of "Military Intelligence" in play here. This is why transgender-identifying service members also find themselves snared in the DADT trolling nets that commanding officers like to throw out every so often. Maybe they have to "catch their limit" to get promoted. Who knows? But, we do know for sure that transgender service members need to be factored into the DADT mix when the discussion comes up.
