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Sexuality Research and Social Policy
Published in: Sexuality Research and Social Policy 3/2019

11-06-2018

Transgender Under Fire: Hetero-cis-normativity and Military Students’ Attitudes Toward Trans Issues and Trans Service Members Post DADT

Author: Meredith G. F. Worthen

Published in: Sexuality Research and Social Policy | Issue 3/2019

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Abstract

The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” (DADT) was a victory for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) military members but left most transgender (trans) military members closeted and failed to address trans military inclusion. The purpose of the current study is to explore military students’ attitudes toward trans issues and trans service members in the year 2012 (post DADT) through a framework of hetero-cis-normativity: a system of prejudice whereby it is “normal” to be both heterosexual and cisgender and it is not normal (and therefore acceptable to be prejudiced toward) non-heterosexual and non-cisgender individuals. Specifically, this study utilizes both closed- and open-ended survey responses from a college student sample of active and veteran members of the United States Reserve Officer Training Core (ROTC) and/or United States Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, and Reserves) enrolled at a southern US university (N = 374) to understand how gender, infantry/combat military occupation, and combat zone deployment (and interactions among these) as well as feminist identity and LGB supportive attitudes play a role in military students’ attitudes toward trans men and women, perspectives about gender-affirming surgeries (i.e., “sex change operations”), and opinions about trans individuals serving openly in the U.S. Armed Forces in the immediate aftermath of the DADT repeal. Consistent with the hetero-cis-normativity framework, both the qualitative and quantitative findings revealed that being a woman, being a feminist, being supportive of gay and bisexual men, infantry/combat military occupation, and combat zone deployment were all significantly related to military students’ trans perspectives. In addition, the qualitative findings situated military students across a spectrum of support of trans military service, with most students overall in the “do nothing to help trans people serve” category but a large percentage of women and LGB respondents comprising the “do more to help trans people serve” category. Implications for future research and policy recommendations are provided.
previous article Experiences of Violence and Head Injury Among Women and Transgender Women Sex Workers
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Appendix
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Footnotes
1
For the purposes of this study, “transgender” or “trans” is a label for individuals who move away from the sex they were assigned at birth and/or prefer non-binary gender identities and “cisgender” or “cis” is a label for individuals who do not.
 
2
For the purposes of this study, “sex change operations” refer to surgical measures to change the body and genitals including “surgeries to create testes (scrotoplasty) and penises (phalloplasty or metoidioplasty, with or without urethral lengthening) for [trans men], and facial feminization, breast augmentation, and surgeries to remove testes (orchiectomy) and create vaginas (vaginoplasty) for [trans women]” (Elders et al., 2015, p. 207).
 
3
It is important to note that cisgender women experience high levels of sexual harassment and sexual assault perpetrated by cisgender men when deployed to combat zones (LeardMann et al., 2013; see also Weitz, 2015).
 
4
At the time of data collection, the US DoD (2012) reported that Active Duty and Reserve and Guard members of the Army comprised the largest percentage of military personnel (47.7%), followed by the Air Force (21.4%), the Navy (16.8%), the Marine Corps (12.0%), and the Coast Guard (2.0%). Women comprised 16% of Active Duty and Reserve and Guard members. Whites represented the largest proportion (71.9%) followed by Black or African American (16.2%), Asian (3.5%), American Indian or Alaskan Native (1.3%), and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander members (0.9%). About 10% were Hispanic or Latino. Nearly 40% (39.4%) were 25 years of age or younger. Most Active Duty (78.6%) and Reserve and Guard (76.4%) members indicated they had a high school diploma/GED or some college. In addition, 19% of Active Duty and 20.5% of Reserve and Guard members indicated a Bachelor’s or more advanced degree. The U.S. Census Bureau (2012) estimated that there were about 21 million veterans in the USA in 2012. Nearly all (92.4%) were men and the vast majority were White (83.7%). A small amount (5.7%) were Hispanic or Latino. A majority (66.1%) indicated high school equivalency, some college, or an associate’s degree. In addition, 26.7% indicated a Bachelor’s or more advanced degree.
 
5
According to the U.S. Transgender Survey (James et al., 2016), among 4989 transgender respondents whom had served in the military, the majority (64%) identify as trans men, trans women, or cross-dressers and only about one-fourth (24%) identify as non-binary.
 
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Metadata
Title
Transgender Under Fire: Hetero-cis-normativity and Military Students’ Attitudes Toward Trans Issues and Trans Service Members Post DADT
Author
Meredith G. F. Worthen
Publication date
11-06-2018
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Sexuality Research and Social Policy / Issue 3/2019
Print ISSN: 1868-9884
Electronic ISSN: 1553-6610
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-018-0340-2

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