ABSTRACT. Military culture and policies have changed significantly over the years when it comes to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. Until recently, there had been policies in place that prevented or restricted military service for gay and transgender individuals. These policies have shifted in recent times, allowing individuals from the LGBTQ community to serve openly as long as they are capable of meeting job-specific standards similar to all other service members. The purpose of this paper is to present a brief history of policies pertaining to the transgender community, and how those policies once restricted or limited, military service. These limitations acted as forced accommodations, disallowing transgender service members to fully serve in the military. Policies now allow for the inclusion of transgender individuals to serve openly in the United States military.

Keywords: transgender; military; veterans; law; disability; gender

How to cite: Flink, P. (2023). “Invisible No More: The State of Transgender Service Members in the U.S. Military,” Journal of Research in Gender Studies 13(1): 9–26. doi: 10.22381/JRGS13120231.

Received 3 October 2022 • Received in revised form 6 May 2023
Accepted 14 May 2023 • Available online 30 May 2023