In the IDF not upsetting the worldview of the troops doesn't rank high on the list of priorities for military enrollement policy. Israel, a non-secular country, has no problem with Transpeople serving in their military. They also have no problem with gay soldiers. Or females ones. In fact, instead of making harsh limits on who can and cannot join, they try to find a place for everyone within reason. (They also have a draft, which I oppose, but that's a topic for another day) No one could argue the IDF is a weak or ineffective military. No one could argue that IDF doesn't face the same military realities of the United States. IDF fights are mandatory. The US is often meddling in business that isn't even ours.
As military reality changes, there are more military positions for those who might not meet the standard physical requirements of service, or who don't fit in the the 'old boy's club'. Israel has been on the forefront of finding the right fit for the right person to enhance military operations, but they aren't the only Western military thinking this way. In fact, many Western militaries have active serving trans people who are doing so proudly. No military break down. The logistics haven't caused a security risk. The men and women who fight alongside these trans people simply have to be grown ups. Military leaders simply have to set the example for that maturity and respect. It really is that simple.
But in America, 'boys will be boys' still prevails in the American Military. Even as more and more women join the ranks of the armed forces, rape culture continues to grow, sexism prevails, and leadership has little interest in curbing any of it. Moreover, that sexist culture is putting the more than 1 million women who serve in danger. So, while everyone is concerned about the feelings of the melting macho snowflakes and how they will handle taking a shower with someone who has breasts and a penis, no one at all seems concerned about the fact that military women don't feel safe with their brothers in arms. So much for a 'brotherhood' (or sisterhood), amiright?
This culture has to change. And no, that's not 'turning the military into a social experiment'. It is literally asking that anyone who serves respects the people they serve with. Regardless of body parts. Regardless of sexual orientation. Regardless of gender. Regardless of religion. You know, this concept isn't all that crazy. In fact, in 2017, it's more the norm than it isn't in the West. For a society obsessed with being the leader of Western Culture, we are falling drastically behind in our own progress. Our insistence that men can't be expected to treat people who aren't like them with respect isn't something to be proud of. It is something to change. If we are at risk because the same military minds who plan elaborate and complex war strategy can't figure out how to configure bathrooms or showers, then we have bigger problems than I think we realize. If you are so worried about paying for the tiny number of people who may seek Sex Reassignment Surgery, but you couldn't be bothered to get upset about the thousands of military women violated by the Marine photo scandal, or the women who were raped and given little justice in the Air Force Acadamy rape scandal you really have no business talking about what will and won't be harmful to military security. It seems, what you are really saying is 'it might make a section of macho snowflakes melt, and we can't have that.'
*photo credit 1: Star Tribune, Steve Sack
*photo credit 2: The Invisibile War, Kirby Dick
