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This article addresses the history of transgender people in the United States from prior to Western contact until the present. There are a few historical accounts of transgender people that have been present in the land now known as the United States at least since the early 1600s. Before Western contact, some Native American tribes had third gender people whose social roles varied from tribe to tribe. People dressing and living differently from the gender roles typical of their sex assigned at birth and contributing to various aspects of American history and culture have been documented from the 17th century to the present day. In the 20th and 21st centuries, advances in gender-affirming surgery as well as transgender activism have influenced transgender life and the popular perception of transgender people in the United States.
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Elisa Rae Shupe is a retired United States Army soldier who in 2016 became the first person in the United States to obtain legal recognition of a non-binary gender. In 2019, she released a statement explaining that she had "returned to [her] male birth sex." In 2022, she published a statement reclaiming her trans identity and condemning the anti-trans movement due to her story being used to push conversion therapy.
Directive-type Memorandum-19-004, "Military Service by Transgender Persons and Persons with Gender Dysphoria", was a memorandum issued by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) prohibiting most transgender individuals from serving or enlisting in the United States Armed Forces and the DoD. The DTM took effect on April 12, 2019, under the presidency of Donald Trump, signed by David Norquist. Originally scheduled to expire on March 12, 2020, it was extended until September 12, 2020. Before it expired, it was replaced by Department of Defense Instruction 1300.28, which took effect on September 4, 2020, signed by Matthew Donovan.
Shawn Graham Skelly is a retired United States Navy officer, national security expert, and LGBT rights advocate who is serving as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness. She is currently fulfilling the duties of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness since September 11, 2023.
References
- 1 2 Campbell, Ana (July 27, 2017). "Castle Rock Transgender Marine: People May Die From President Trump's Tweets". Westword. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ↑ "Together We Served" . Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ↑ "Guest Post: I'm a veteran who is transgender. These are the facts". July 27, 2017.
- ↑ Sosin, Kate (January 25, 2021). "Biden ends the trans military ban that forced 13,700 to choose between their jobs and transitioning" . Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ↑ "Students Organize Name Change Legal Clinic for Transgender Coloradans". Colorado Law. University of Colorado Boulder. April 25, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ↑ Dugdale, Emily Elena (May 26, 2020). "Support For Transgender Troops Is High In The Military, Study Finds". LA ist. Retrieved December 21, 2022.