Being transgender and joining the Navy

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I am 19 years old and I am a female-to-male transgender. I am seriously considering enlisting in the Navy, but I am unsure of how they will react to me being trans. Do you think they would let me enlist as a guy? Or at least give me a chance to prove that I belong with the men?
Joining is something I really want to do. I feel like this is where I am supposed to go, but being autistic and transgender seems like it'll make it impossible.
I have an appointment with a recruiter next week.
Anyone have any advice?
Thanks.

Here is something about GID (Gender Identity Disorder) which the military sees as a mental illness.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell & the Military

Yeah the DADT repeal does not apply to transfolk. Unless you were far enough in your transition they would probably enlist you as a female, if they let you enlist at all. It really sucks but it's how it is.

You could be viewed as cool and a real person and accepted.

You could be subject to bullying and treated as an outcast.

I really recommend trying to talk with current or recent Navy personnel for ways to deal with bullying if it occurs.


PS I was in JROTC for two years and got a lot out of it. Sometimes I wish I would have stayed longer.

If I were you I'd be very careful. The armed forces are not known for their acceptance of diversity. You could be exposing yourself to alot of bullying and ridicule. Worst case scenario, you could be sexually abused if the other males find out that you're a biological female. I don't know what your "Asperger's fingerprint" is, but I'm not sure the Navy is very aspie-friendly. Probably alot of loud noises, zero privacy, and strict conformity. Plus if you're stuck with the same people for extended periods of time, your social skills better be top-notch or you'll have a really rough time. Sorry I know I'm being pessimistic and discouraging, but I'm also being honest.

I also want to echo the being very careful thing. I am also FTM and aspie and I would need to think very carefully about placing myself in that kind of very masculine, competitive, male-only environment. Your autism probably doesn't equip you well to deal with uncomfortable or threatening situations if they arise. I don't think anyone here wants to deter you from your dream and it's possible that we are wrong and everyone there would be supportive, but to me it honestly sounds at best uncomfortable and at worst dangerous. As someone else said, in that kind of situation sexual assault is a danger you would have to consider as the worst case scenario. Unfortunately the military, at least its male sectors, is a good place to find homophobic and transphobic people and the other men around you, tolerant or intolerant, will be aware that you have female genitals, since it's highly unlikely you would get away with being stealth.

By all means go to the meeting with the recruiter and see what they have to say about it. Just be very clear about both things and that you want clear guidance about whether the navy would be an accepting environment. However, if you haven't already, you need to ask yourself lots of questions about this. Have you been in any similar "young, athletic males only" spaces before and would you be socially and emotionally comfortable with them (if you are seriously considering it, I think you should try to gain some experience with them)? At this point in your transition, are you a match in physical strength for a biomale your age, and of a reasonable physical size (if not, you don't have much hope of being placed with biological males in an environment where those things are important)? Are you able to physically defend yourself should the need arise? Would you have access to the healthcare and medication you need as a transgender person if you were deployed to an isolated environment? If you haven't already, I think you really need to discuss this with some navy personel or ex-navy personel who could give you some feedback. It's good that you've posted in an autism forum, but if you haven't, I also recommend 1) finding and posting in an online navy forum and asking the question you have asked here and 2) posting in transgender forums asking for feedback from transpeople who have been in the military. That kind of information might be more valuable.

I don't have any military experience, but combining what I do know with my experiences as an autistic transgender person, I would say you have two safe and logical options:
1) if you are passionate enough about this career that it can take precedence over your gender identity for a while, halt your transition (it sounds like you are not fully transitioned yet) and enlist as a female, so you can spend some time in that career before transitioning. Then you will be in a position to determine whether it is a safe environment for you to transition, whether it is worth continuing to make that sacrifice, or whether it is time to move on.
2) If you are passionate about a career in service to others involving the ocean and are willing to consider other options, there are other careers which fulfil those criteria you could look into which aren't in military service and would probably be safer and more comfortable for you.

This was a long post because I genuinely empathise and I really hope you are able to find a solution which works for you!

Hi, one thing which I like to recommend to young people under 30 is medical school, yeah, the real thing. And don't be too quick to dismiss it because there's at least 25 different specialities and it's not about being great at science. It's about distilling information down for the patient. And there is also a trial and error aspect in a respectful sense, and that, too, is not so much about scientific brilliance as it is about a certain kind of both activity and patience.

I mention this, well one, I wish someone would have preached this to me when I was younger. And also, if one of the appeals of the Navy is worthwhile endeavors in partnership with others, you might also get this in medical school and practice. In his book Becoming a Doctor (1987), Melvin Konner said that medical school is an intense experience second only to war, with presumably non-combat military service perhaps being third.

Or, perhaps you could pursue medicine within the Navy.