First woman to fight on the frontline

[napmeistergeneral]

Transgender woman becomes "first female" in British army to serve on frontline.
Link is to the guardian but covered by other outlets also.
www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/17/transgender-soldier-is-first-female-to-serve-on-the-front-line

I don't doubt it's an incredibly hard and scary thing to be a trans woman in the army and for that chloe deserves support and praise. But I'm afraid I still feel unconvinced by the "first woman" claim.

AIBU to feel uncomfortable and unconvinced about firsts for women being claimed by trans women?

[SleepDeprivedAndCranky]

Claire is opening doors for other women to get in to the front lines. She identifies as a woman so who are we to contradict her. I don't see the problem. In such a diverse World, I am saddened that people/parents are spreading such hatred and prejudices. Our children will grow up and go out into the World and we all hope they can be themselves and be accepted as they are. Claire is also someone's child, albait an adult now, I'm sure both she and her family worry about how she is treated and the struggle she makes during her transition. She is representing her Country, well done her.

[DrudgeJedd]

Who's Claire?

[Wellywanga]

Sleep Its chloe not claire to begin with.

If you read all posts you will see that most posters would and will happily celebrate chloe becoming the first transwoman on the front line. Good for her.

The sticking point is it is being reported that she is the first woman on the front line.

Chloe was in the infantry before she transitioned. She passed her physical training as a man.

Women have only just being allowed to apply for the infantry, and prove they are physically just as capable. When a woman does get in, it will have been a long battle to get her there, years and years of people campaigning for equality to allow women to be on the front line.

The two things should be celebrated separately.

Yaay a transwoman did it

Yaay a woman did it

[RufusTheSpartacusReindeer]

I agree with welly

I would congratulate Chloe for being the first transwoman (even though someone has just said that chloe isn't)

Chloe is not the first woman

[WinchesterWoman]

She identifies as a woman so who are we to contradict 'her'.

Hi yes me, hi, I'll contradict her. If you're talking about Chloe.

[MrsJayy]

Good for Chloe (not clare) i wish their transition well however she is not a woman fighting on the frontline she is a one month of hormones transitioning man earning a male wage on the frontline Chloe is discrediting all of the female soldiers who have yet to fight on the front line chloe isnt a trailblaizer Chloe is a transexual using her male privelage

[MrsJayy]

Wow that was quite a rant from me

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

I think it's great that a transwoman is openly accepted and able to serve in the Forces. This is something to be celebrated and to be proud of. It is great that Chloe has done this and will no doubt help to fly a flag for transwomen being more generally accepted.

However this individual is not a woman. By saying this person is a woman we erase the difficulties and the accomplishment of the first woman to serve in this position.

I am still Spartacus.

[SleepDeprivedAndCranky]

Apologies, Chloe not Claire

[Mummyoflittledragon]

Sleepdeprived. It isn't about spreading hatred.

Chloe has won one battle: the battle to be accepted in forces as transgender.

Women have won the battle: the battle to be allowed to fight on the frontline.

The two battles are mutually exclusive. This is why the majority of posters are objecting. And rightly so.

[Snowshimmer]

It reminds me of this - ‘Matrix’ Director’s Gender Transition Makes Her The Highest-Grossing Female Director Of All Time
It's easy to be a "female" trailblazer in a male dominated industry when you're male.

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

And the highest paid female CEO in the US is actually a transwoman...

[Beardsareweird]

Having read this thread, i am delighted that there are other people who feel the same way I do. When I was talking about this to friends earlier, and said that Chloe wasn't the first woman on the frontline, but the first trans woman, I was accused of being intolerant of the trans community. I felt similarly annoyed when a woman who had undergone hormone therapy and had grown a beard got pregnant, and was shown on the front of several newspapers as being the first man to conceive. What bollocks.

[BeyondASpecialSnowflake]

Yay for MrsJay joining the thread!

[Whenwillitrain]

Good for him.

[WinchesterWoman]

lol Whenwillitrain

[FloraFox]

www.thesun.co.uk/video/news/chloe-allen-is-first-female-frontline-soldier-in-the-history-of-the-british-army/

Monty Pythonesque.

[NNChangeAgain]

The law is clear, but being ignored.

It is only possible to be legally recognised as the gender opposite to the sex you were assigned at birth if you hold a gender reassignment certificate.

Trans is a legally protected characteristic. So Chloe is protected from detrimental treatment because she is transitioning.

Refusing to refer to her as a woman in a press release is not detrimental as she is not, in fact, legally a woman as she does not hold a GRC.

The Army should be held to account be being bullied, if in fact they were, into complying with this falsehood.

[RunnyRattata]

Well done to Chloe for being the first transwoman to fight on the front line.
Chloe is not the first woman to fight on the front line because Chloe is not a woman. Ask almost every cell in Chloe's body and they will tell you this.
But that basic scientific fact aside, well done Chloe and well done to those who made it possible.
Can we not just fuck off with the doublespeak though and stick to the facts.

[MoreCoffeeNow]

She identifies as a woman so who are we to contradict her.

Real women.

HTH

Still Spatacus.

[NNChangeAgain]

*for being bullied - although I'd quite like to bully them myself!

[pontificationcentral]

Yawn-tastic. I was interviewing serving transwomen ten years ago. What an absolute pile of bollocks. There are hundreds of men in this position.

[pontificationcentral]

there are two types of transwomen in the British army - those that pose for the Sun, and those that decide they will just continue to assume their male identity for work to make life easier. Both are as much 'women' as the other (ie not at all).
First out transwomen in the infantry? Well done Chloe. First woman? No.

[nooka]

If I was Chloe I'd be a bit pissed of with this reporting too, as Chloe has been reported as saying that it was a great step for transgender people. Which it is. However it has nothing to do with women. No woman has been able to fight in the infantry, and we won't be able to do so for some time yet as the rules have only very recently changed. That rule change has allowed Chloe to remain in her unit. Personally I don't really see why people like Chloe were booted out in the first place as they still have all the physical attributes that led to them being accepted in the first place.

A bit of makeup and a longer hairstyle have no impact on your fighting capabilities, unless you think that even the trappings of femininity make you a lesser person. Hormone treatment might be more problematic in the long run, but presumably there are physical fitness tests on a regular basis for all soldiers.

[MangoMoon]

presumably there are physical fitness tests on a regular basis for all soldiers.

Yes there are nooka, there are differing levels for men & women though.
Don't know how that is affected by trans status though tbh.