Department of Defence Instruction 6130.03: Section 5; subheader 13 Female Genitalia System paragraph f and subheader 14 Male Genitalia System paragraph m
History of major abnormalities or defects of the genitalia, such as hermaphroditism, pseudohermaphroditism, or pure gonadal dysgenesis.[1]
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14.
—Male Genitalia System:
m.
History of major abnormalities or defects of the genitalia such as hermaphroditism, pseudohermaphroditism, or pure gonadal dysgenesis.[1]
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Context
"True hermaphroditism," which is clinically known as ovotesticular disorder of sex development,[6] is a medical term for an intersex state in which a human is born with both testicular and ovarian tissue. Often one or both gonads is an ovotestis which contains both types of tissue. It is similar in some ways to mixed gonadal dysgenesis but the conditions can be distinguished histologically.[7] The condition has several effects on the body, one of which is imbalanced hormonal output, which is why it is currently considered a disqualifying condition for military service in the United States.
"Pseudohermaphroditism" on the other hand is an old clinical term for a person that is born with primary sex characteristics of one sex but develops the secondary sex characteristics[8][9] that are different from what would be expected on the basis of the gonadal tissue (ovary or testis). Use of the term "pseudohermaphroditism" can be problematic, and is now widely considered redundant.[10] Because of this, the language still used by the armed forces has fallen out of favor in the 21st century due to misconceptions and pejorative connotations associated with the term hermaphrodite.[11]
Several militaries, whether they accept intersex people (such as Israel) or not, use different wording.[12] The website Military.com clumps all three conditions together as "hermaphroditism" on their list of conditions which disqualify one from service.[13]
The guideline with the current wording was first conceived in 2010 and implemented in 2011.[16][17] At first it was not addressed if persons who have had surgeries to address their genital abnormalities were acceptable or not but later updates added in notes about people also being barred if they had medical interventions done. In 2013 guidelines stated that "a history of, or current manifestations of, personality disorders, disorders of impulse control not elsewhere classified, transvestism, voyeurism, other paraphilias, or factitious disorders, psychosexual conditions, transsexual, gender identity disorder to include major abnormalities or defects of the genitalia such as change of sex or a current attempt to change sex, hermaphroditism, pseudohermaphroditism, or pure gonadal dysgenesis or dysfunctional residuals from surgical correction of these conditions render an individual administratively unfit," which while specifying that only unsuccessful corrective surgeries for the conditions rendered someone unfit for service also lumped together disorders of sex development (DOSD) with gender identity, fetishes, mental illness, neuroatypicality, personality disorders and paraphilias in the same level of disqualification, which is not consistent or optimal for rules of enlistment.[18][19][20] The 2016 amendments to the 6130.03 guidelines to allow transgender people to serve did not touch on intersex people whatsoever and their situation remained unchanged.[21] At the time the location of the writing was at "Enclosure 4, 14f. and 15r," here it was listed as "major abnormalit[y] or defect of genitalia."[22] The amendments made for transgender people were motivated by changes in the medical and psychological community, and while the use of the word hermaphroditism was criticized as archaic and medically outdated there was no major push by the larger LGBT community to have it corrected nor was any effort made on the part of the military to consider having it reworded.[23][24][25]
Effectiveness
The Consensus Study Report from the Board on Children, Youth, and Families (part of the DOD's Military Family Readiness System) in 2019 notes that despite the restriction it is very possible for someone whose genitalia have been surgically modified to comply with social norms due to these conditions to enter the military completely undetected.[26]
^"Frequently Asked Questions"(printable). Intersex Society of North America. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019. The words "hermaphrodite" and "pseudo-hermaphrodite" are stigmatizing and misleading words. Unfortunately, some medical personnel still use them to refer to people with certain intersex conditions, because they still subscribe to an outdated nomenclature that uses gonadal anatomy as the basis of sex classification.
^"Frequently Asked Questions". Intersex Society of North America. Archived from the original(printable) on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019. In a paper titled "Changing the Nomenclature/Taxonomy for Intersex: A Scientific and Clinical Rationale":/node/979, five ISNA-associated experts recommend that all terms based on the root "hermaphrodite" be abandoned because they are scientifically specious and clinically problematic. The terms fail to reflect modern scientific understandings of intersex conditions, confuse clinicians, harm patients, and panic parents. We think it is much better for everyone involved when specific condition names are used in medical research and practice.
^Wallace Swan; The Routledge Handbook of LGBTQIA Administration and Policy
^"Slurs". Genderkit.org.uk. Gender Construction Kit. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
^Inclusion in the American Military: A Force for Diversity – Page 163
^Inclusion in the American Military: A Force for Diversity – Page 154
^Brynn Tannehill; Allyson Dylan Robinson; Sue Fulton (February 2015). "Transgender Military Service: A Guide to Implementation"(PDF). SPλRT*A: Service Members Partners Allies For Respect And Tolerance For All. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
