Transgender Boineros/as

Jacob Tobia

Living in a country with a first openly transgender mayor in the world (1995) and the world's first openly transgender member of parliament (1999), I follow the now daily developments in US (and especially Florida) politics regarding gender and trans- rights with interest and amazement.

Rym Gallardo

Although I fail to understand why someone’s personal orientation and preferences can be polarizing to the level of national (US) politics, I thought it interesting to delve into the subject in relation to berets.

Ceval Omar

Not surprising, there are many transgender boineros/as, whether from a sense of style and fashion, or as part of their (military) uniform.

By some estimates, the U.S. military is the single-largest employer of transgender people on the planet, with an estimated 15,500 active-duty trans personnel. Trans people are twice as likely than the general population to serve their country, but they had to conceal their gender identity because military policies banned their service. On January 25, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order to reverse the ban, allowing most transgender individuals to serve in the United States military.

Staff Sergeant Byun Hee-soo was the first known transgender soldier in South Korea. She was a tank driver before being discharged from the army in January 2020 after she underwent gender reassignment surgery.

On October 2021, South Korean court ruled that the military discharge was unlawful and cancelled the discharge, but by that time Byun Hee-Soo had died...

Most (Western) militaries have no issues including LGBT individuals. Captain Hannah Graf is an Officer of the British Army. She is a decorated Officer, having deployed to Afghanistan, Kenya and Canada. Hannah was awarded an MBE in the 2019 New Years Honours List, receiving the award from HRH The Duke of Cambridge in June 2019.

The Dutch military became the first to allow LGBT individuals to serve in 1974 and it was also the first to set up an LGBT military support organization. The Royal Netherlands Army embraces a "Do Tell" policy and routinely organizes floats in pride events.

The New Zealand Defence Force has been lauded as a world leader in diversity and for support of the LGBTQI community, and has been ranked as number one for integration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender personnel into the nation's military.

And while LGBTQ Russians were Putin's first target in his war on the West, this Canadian soldier can publicly kiss his partner. 

A glimpse into the lives of four soldiers who risk dismissal or demotion to fight for transgender rights in the US armed forces: