A Nation Moving Forward

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The White House released this landmark video titled Supporting a Ban on Conversion Therapy on YouTube last week, which combines multiple narratives and various perspectives from both economic and political backgrounds on the issue. For the vast majority of Americans, conversion therapy is obscure and therefore completely overlooked. The issue of conversion therapy, however, is no enigma to Violent Femmes. Having seen Jamie Babbit’s But I’m a Cheerleader (1999), we recognize conversion therapy’s hazardous pitfalls and unintended consequences for its participants, which frankly cause more immediate harm than good. Conversion therapy is just not practical because individuals eventually learn to embrace their sexuality in our heteronormative society. But has America adopted the same way of thinking? Can the issue of conversion therapy, as perpetuated onto the media by our nation’s governing body, serve as a launch pad for society’s proper understanding of the transgendered community as well as the underlying LGBTQ experience?

Jay Davis of the Environmental Protection Agency, Amanda Simpson of the Army of Energy Initiatives, and the U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith – all individuals in positions of power and national influence – strongly believe in sexual freedom and equality as important social fabrics of America. In their words, permitting conversion therapy would seriously undermine the nation’s beliefs and inhibit its cultural progress. Amanda Simpson summarizes their beliefs perfectly when she said “it’s not just about trans issues, but also about race and economics.” However, these are only individual voices with impressive credentials. What does our modern society, which ultimately has the greatest influence on its own people, actually believe?

Modern society often requires a direct and intimate connection with other people surrounding large issues like conversion therapy to garner attention. As such, the U.S. military is a relatable case because all citizens heavily rely on its efforts for security and is also a dynamic environment for transgendered individuals today. Although the military policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ended in September 2011, allowing gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members to serve openly, medical policies still exclude transgender people from service. What about soldiers who are still transgender? In a study conducted by the Williams Institute in UCLA, it determined that approximately 15,500 transgendered individuals are serving active duty—an overwhelming number that cannot be overlooked.[1] Moreover, there are over 130,000 transgendered veterans who have dedicated their lives to serve. Perhaps educating the public further about these numbers could change its perspective on equal opportunities for the LGBTQ community.

Shane Ortega of the U.S. military.

Sargent Shane Ortega is currently part of the Army’s 25^th infantry division and is serving his third combat tour as a transgender. He was born a female, served at least two tours spanning a decade, and admits wanting to serve the rest of his life as a man. Since the U.S. military characterizes transgender-ness as a medical disorder, Ortega is constantly at risk of being removed from service. Conversion therapy has been extensively used to promote the military’s “straight” environment. Is this a proper display of equal opportunity, let alone rational decision making by the government? Are individuals expressing their sexuality unnecessarily bound by regulatory structures as they are under heteronormative social structures? According to a 2014 study conducted by the Palm Center, a nonpartisan national commission comprised of medical and psychological experts, the doctors found “no compelling medical rationale for banning transgender military service, and that eliminating the ban would advance a number of military interests, including enabling commanders to better care for their service members.”[2] There is an unsettling disconnect between what society thinks is correct and what is proven to be true.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Ortega eventually shared his feelings publicly about his experience: “Administratively, I shouldn’t exist. But I do exist, so that’s still the problem.”[3] The irony in his statement is remarkable: why is Ortega’s freedom at risk when he is providing freedom to those denying it to him?

In lieu of these current events, we ought to be thinking about shaping the future for all human experiences. If America is truly to be redeemed as the land of equal opportunity and equality, it has to act that way by serving the interests of its people, which includes transgendered individuals. Shane Ortega’s experience as a transgender created shockwaves in the LBGTQ community, which is part of an even greater human rights story in America. Fortunately for the military, erasing this discrimination is only repealing one medical code away—but in order for it to work in the long term our societal culture must change. Without doubt, it will certainly be a difficult challenge to contest the cultivated idea of America’s heteronormative environment.

There is light at the end of the tunnel—slow but steady progress has been made. Supporting a Ban on Conversion Therapy has done the job of putting faces to the issues that people have voiced for years. With over 120,000 signatures, a petition following the video to ban all LGBTQ+ conversion therapy has propelled LGBTQ youth issues onto the national spotlight and elicited the government’s administrative priority.[4] In responding to that petition, President Obama made the following inspiring statement:

 “Tonight, somewhere in America, a young person, let’s say a young man, will struggle to fall to sleep, wrestling alone with a secret he’s held as long as he can remember. Soon, perhaps, he will decide it’s time to let that secret out. What happens next depends on him, his family, as well as his friends and his teachers and his community. But it also depends on us — on the kind of society we engender, the kind of future we build.”

I believe that America is on the right track towards that future as President Obama suggested in his statement. But, as with all goals, planning out subsequent steps is crucial in successfully obtaining it. This is where a transformation in our thought process relating to this blog’s sexuality issues is significant, and needs to be vocalized beyond the extent of the internet to stimulate further action. We are, at least, moving forward.

[1] Gates, Gary J. Transgender Military Service in the United States. N.p.: n.p., n.d. May 2014. Web. 16 Apr. 2015. <http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Transgender-Military-Service-May-2014.pdf&gt;.

[2] “Report of the Transgender Military Service Commission.” (n.d.): n. pag. The Palm Center, Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Apr. 2015. <http://www.palmcenter.org/files/Transgender%20Military%20Service%20Report_0.pdf&gt;.

[3] Eilperin, Juliet. “Transgender in the Military: A Pentagon in Transition Weighs Its Policy.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2015. Web. 16 Apr. 2015. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/transgender-in-the-military-a-pentagon-in-transition-weighs-its-policy/2015/04/09/ee0ca39e-cf0d-11e4-8c54-ffb5ba6f2f69_story.html&gt;.

[4] “Response to Your Petition on Conversion Therapy.” The White House, Apr. 2015. Web. 16 Apr. 2015. <https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/response-your-petition-conversion-therapy&gt;.