The Daily Beast tells how some transgender troops are hurrying to get a diagnosis by April 12 that will let them continue their military service.
The deadline was set when a White House ban against military service by transgender individuals, over opposition from many in the military and the U.S. House, cleared legal hurdles that led to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court’s final ruling came January 22.
The diagnosis troops must seek is for gender dysphoria. That is not a ruling that there is something wrong with them. According to the American Psychiatric Association, “Gender dysphoria involves a conflict between a person’s physical or assigned gender and the gender with which he/she/they identify. People with gender dysphoria may be very uncomfortable with the gender they were assigned, sometimes described as being uncomfortable with their body (particularly developments during puberty) or being uncomfortable with the expected roles of their assigned gender.
“People with gender dysphoria may often experience significant distress and/or problems functioning associated with this conflict ”
As the Daily Beast reports it, “Before April 12, a gender dysphoria diagnosis will allow transgender service members … to serve openly—and even transition—under the troop ban’s grandfather clause. After April 12, a gender dysphoria diagnosis will mean discharge, and it will disqualify potential recruits.”
To learn more about gender identity and gender dysphoria, get “100 Questions and Answers About Gender Identity.”
