Transgender Military Personnel in the Post-DADT Repeal Era

Abstract

This study is the first to systematically inquire into the lives of transgender men and women currently serving across the branches of the US military in the post-“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) repeal era. We employed an interview protocol from a stratified convenience sample (n = 14) of clandestinely serving active duty, guard and reserve military members from the US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps who self-identified as transgender or transsexual. Using phenomenology as a methodological foundation, we present a revelatory case study based on lived experiences from firsthand accounts furthering the collective understanding of gender dysphoria in a contemporary military context.