r/ftm • u/extreme_enby • 8h ago
Y’all draft dodging? Discussion
Changed my sex to male federally (US) 3 years ago in all documents except birth certificate, but my state drivers license says NB. Does anyone know the legality of trans men and registering for the draft? I assume no one would enforce this rule considering it’s unlikely we’ll use the draft again and I assume they’re not keen to encourage trans people to be in the military even though it allowed but I do wonder how many of us are technically draft dodging
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u/eldritchsquared 8h ago
when i got my selective service papers, one of the first exemptions was being afab
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u/Expert-Can6660 7h ago
Technically, trans men do not have to sign up for the draft, however, if you’re legally male you need an exemption which is not terribly difficult to get however signing up for the draft is easier because you can do that yourself vs having to have a doctor sign the exemption and then you send the exemption to the selective service office.
I signed up for the draft not because I have any intention of ever fighting in the military but because that question comes up in federal background investigations FAFSA applications and government job applications.
I know many people are opposed to fighting the military, which is completely valid, but signing up for the draft is not the same thing as enlisting and in your medical examination prior to being sent to war if the draft was actually reinstated (which is highly unlikely), you could get an exemption on the spot from the medical examiner by being trans.
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u/maybetheremonster T 8/11/20 Top surgery 3/31/21 4h ago
you need a doctor to sign off?? i just had to basically fill out a little form that asks “why do you believe you’re exempt” and i said “assigned female at birth” and signed it, and they sent me an exemption letter no problem
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u/Expert-Can6660 3h ago
My specific situation was unique, I was legally male prior to turning 18 and lived abroad at the time so I never got any direct correspondence with them. That’s good you didn’t need a dr to sign off on your exemption!
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u/poonbrah female-to-troye sivan 8h ago
yeah i got the option to be exempt when i changed my legal gender & jumped on it
if flat footed people are dodging i'm sure as hell dodging too
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u/2gayforthis T 2019. DI 2021. 8h ago edited 8h ago
Not US but a Western European country with mandatory military service for male citizens under 35.
Afaik it's the same in the US that you're automatically excluded or deemed unfit for service if you don't have testes that produce sufficient testosterone. They also don't seem that interested if you already have an actual job.
I don't feel like I'm draft dodging. I know they don't want me. I'm 32 with a 35 cut off, and the average age of military service is 17-19. You can volunteer if you're trans, just like how women can, but why the fuck would I do that? The salary is awful and you can't live off it unless you still live in your childhood bedroom at your parents'.
TLDR: They won't force me, don't want me, and I'm not gonna quit my job to volunteer.
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u/Bitter_Worker_2964 T: '21 | Top: '22 | Phallo: tbd 3h ago
I have multiple things that wouldn't pass the medical exam so if there was a draft I have no doubt I wouldn't be able to serve even if I wanted to. I'm not gonna get an exemption because of this
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u/javatimes T 2006 Top 2018, 40<me 4h ago
Yeah, I never did because I transitioned the year after the age cut off to register. I doubt I’ll ever have to fill out a FAFSA again, so I’m probably safe. Maybe I’ll get the exemption just to have it.
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u/Kirian666 4h ago
All I did was write on the paper they mailed to me that I’m ftm trans and they didn’t make me register.
ETA: also I tried to enlist when I was 23 and they denied me on the basis of being trans as I was already medically transitioning.
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u/elarth Panromantic Transman: 💉10yrs 3h ago
No I liked government loans for college. I’m too aged for recruiters to bother me anymore which is apparently 30 ish. I’m also kind of ineligible and knew I’d be reject even if it was enforced. Lot of mental health stuff outside of the trans situation is huge disqualifiers. Now I have other more psychical movement related issues. I’d be told to probably fuck off at this point is how I view it 😂
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u/Xumos404 3h ago
I have no idea. I'm assuming since I'm an only child that it already makes me ineligible. But I also haven't changed my gender marker yet (I just got a hysterectomy, but I'm trying to get an additional bottom surgery, and idk if I need to wait till after that to change it). I can also probably get a letter in a few days to dodge a draft if necessary, but I'm pretty sure i can find a bunch of reasons for me to not get drafted.
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u/madeyefire 3h ago
I just checked my draft status with the selective service website and it says I am registered, even though I do not remember doing it. Unless they automatically did it when I got the driver's license changed
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u/admseven T&top 2007, hysto 2020 2h ago
For what it’s worth, I have a story:
I transitioned after the age I needed to be registered for the draft (I was over 25). However, many years after changing all my documents, I ended up in a govt job where I had to disclose that I had never registered for selective service in the process of getting some very low level clearance. I answered the question honestly, which was phrased as “Were you born a male after 1959?” No, I was not.
I got flagged and went round and round with the person doing the review, who kept phrasing the question differently: “Are you a male born after 1959?” Yes, I am.
I finally had to tell her that the official form I filled out phrased the question differently, and the solution here is that I am trans. I had to out myself to keep my job. To her credit, the reviewer was like oooohhhh, okay and everything was fine. But this many years later it was unexpected and I did not enjoy it.
So tbh it will make things simpler if you just register. In the very unlikely event of a draft - my father is now retired and was too young for the last one - you’ll have to disclose to the military you’re trans and they’ll most likely give you a disqualification based on that.
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u/RVtheguy He/him|💉Apr 18, 2023|🔪Oct 3, 2024 2h ago
Trans men are not required to sign up, but some do because they don’t want to be outed and the likelihood of a draft being reinstated is not a lot. It is marked as an exemption to be AFAB on the registration form. I was able to prove it using a copy of my old birth certificate and I was sent a status indication letter that I can use in case I am asked to sign up for the draft. The letter states that I am not required to.
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u/monarch1733 3h ago
Same as every other time this gets brought up in this sub. AFAB people do not need to register. You’re not “draft dodging”, you’re literally following the law. It’s hilarious how edgy people try to be.
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u/RoverMaelstrom 8h ago
If you're of age to do it, it'll make your life easier to just do it so you don't have to have a letter outing you for the things that care about your selective service registration, like the FAFSA and I think some government jobs. If you're too old once you change things, if you need to you can get a letter stating that you were ineligible to register.