Originally published September 17, 2013
It’s been heard to escape the story over the last few weeks. Not only do we have the drama of national security leaks but now we have the real struggle of someone who has been gender dysphoric and how that will pay out in a military prison. We couldn’t have made this stuff up if we tried. It reminds me of the new Jenji Kohan Netflix series, Orange is the New Black.
One of the inmates there, Sophie, has hormone replacements that have been cut off and now she is having to beg, cheat and potentially sexually barter with a guard in order to maintain her medical femaleness. Both the show and the real life, Manning situation challenges the idea of gender dysphoria being a medically necessary condition that if left untreated equates to cruel and unusual punishment. In Manning’s case as well, she has not had any surgeries or completed the process of