Community Corner
Ex-Navy SEAL Comes Out as Transgender in ‘Warrior Princess’ (Video)
Beck writes that she first came out as transgender by changing her LinkedIn profile, and was shocked to find fellow Navy SEALs supported her decision.
By Beth Ford Roth, KPBS
Chris Beck was in the military for 20 years and a member of the elite Navy SEAL Team 6. But it wasn't until Beck's retirement in 2011 that Chris was able to become Kristen, and reveal herself to be a transgender female.
Kristen Beck has written a book about her transition, called Warrior Princess: A U.S. Navy SEAL's Journey to Coming out Transgender.
According to the book's description on Amazon.com:
To everyone who saw him, he was a hero. A warrior. A man. But underneath his burly beard, Chris had a secret, one that had been buried deep inside his heart since he was a little boy-one as hidden as the panty hose in the back of his drawer. He was transgender, and the woman inside needed to get out.
Beck writes that she first came out as transgender by changing her LinkedIn profile, and was shocked to find fellow Navy SEALs supported her decision. One fellow SEAL wrote, according to The Atlantic Wire:
"You're a Team Guy, first and foremost, and you always will be. I'll drink a beer with you anytime, anywhere, for any reason, no matter how you are dressed ... especially if you are buying."
The Atlantic Wire muses that Beck's story may eventually change the Pentagon's policy against transgender people serving in the military:
So perhaps this memoir, which documents the secret torment of one of the U.S. military's most effective and loyal agents, will lay the groundwork for even greater inclusion in the armed forces.
Click here to watch a video report about what changes Kristen Beck could bring about in the military.
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