Suzette Collins | The unnecessary transgender debate

A recent article printed this semester in The Daily Pennsylvanian on the controversy over transgender individuals in the military has been on my mind since I read it.

The article included a thoughtful statement regarding the concern that some people transitioning from one sex to another are under enormous physical stress and would not make good candidates for military service. This is a very salient point.

The military actively discriminates (not in the sense that it treats unfairly, but that it discerns or selects) against most physical challenges, since it also does not accept service members with diabetes, a history of hemorrohoids, hearing loss, flat feet, a history of mood disorders (including depression), past surgeries, a lack of high athletic ability, etc.

And although recent surveys suggest that no more than 20 percent of all American males between the ages of 18 and 26 can meet military medical standards for acceptance, it is important to note that all active and reserve branches of the military have exceeded all recruiting goals in the last two years. Flush with applicants, the military has become highly selective in its candidate process and, frankly, has no reason to accept service members who have physical challenges. In short, it can discriminate.

Not all discrimination is bad. It is correct to say that Penn is highly discriminating in its student selection process. Does this mean it unfairly discriminates against low-IQ high-school students? No, Penn has high academic performance standards to meet, which means that those who are born with below-average intelligence and have academic challenges are naturally selected against.

So is it a problem that the military has high physical performance standards and naturally selects against those who have physical challenges?

Let’s be honest. This whole debate over supposed military discrimination against transgender people after the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is just another excuse to encourage an anti-military position on elite college campuses that have not offered ROTC programs since the days of the Vietnam War. For well over 20 years after schools like Harvard, Yale and Stanford universities dropped their ROTC units, there was not a single mention of, or concern for, the rights of gays in the military. These schools were just set against sponsoring ROTC.

There have always been gays in the military. The introduction of DADT in the 1990s only codified the absolute practice of leaving one’s sexuality behind at the (voluntarily chosen) door of military service. There is no right for heterosexual servicemembers to express their sexuality on the job or in military lodging. Truly, a service member found in bed with a member of the opposite sex in military quarters would find his or her career ended as fast as anyone found in bed with a member of the same sex.

I personally know military servicemen who are gay, who knew they were gay when they chose to enter the military and who found DADT to be a fair and fine professional service code for everyone to live by. They are not defined by being gay and appreciate how a military career is so profoundly non-sexual. Of course, they meet the high physical qualifications for military service and have found it very rewarding. The repeal of DADT was not of great interest to them, as they believe most people they serve closely with probably think they might be gay but don’t ask and don’t care.

When you think about it, the debate over transgender discrimination by the military is actually one manufactured and promoted by articles like the one published in the DP and is not supported by common sense or facts.

Imagine an actual debate over the rights of transgender young people to serve in the military and realize that it would get completely bogged down in an attempt to justify those supposed rights, as compared with — oh say — the rights of academically challenged young people to be admitted to Penn.

Suzette Collins is the mother of two Penn students. Her email address is suzettec@comcast.net.

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