Military court: Army must not refer to WikiLeaks leaker Manning as a male

A military appeals court on Thursday ordered the government to refrain from referring to WikiLeaks leaker Pvt. Chelsea Manning as a male.

After the August 2013 espionage conviction for leaking more than 700,000 documents and video, Manning announced that she would live as a woman with the name Chelsea going forward. She also appealed the conviction. A non-military judge approved the name change last year. Hormone therapy, which she is now getting, is assisting her transition. Manning has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

"Reference to appellant in all future formal papers filed before this court and all future orders and decisions issued by this court shall either be neutral, e.g., Private First Class Manning or appellant, or employ a feminine pronoun," the US Army Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Thursday.

The military had opposed referring to Manning as a female in court documents. The government argued that "unless directed otherwise," it would continue "using masculine pronouns."

Chase Strangio, an ACLU attorney for Manning, said the military tribunal is "dignifying Chelsea's womanhood."

"This is an important development in Chelseas fight for adequate medical care for her gender dysphoria. That fight continues but at least the government can no longer attempt to erase Chelseas identity by referring to her as male in every legal filing," Strangio said.

The "Free Chelsea Manning" network said Thursday that the military, which bans transgender people from serving, "is continuing to deny Chelseas request to grow her hair consistent with the standards for female prisoners."

Manning, who is jailed in Kansas at Fort Leavenworth, now writes for the Guardian. In December, she wrote:

The challenges that trans people are forced to navigateeven in accessing identification, but in so much moreare the result of institutional bias that favors cisgender people and assumes that trans people are deviant. When your own governments policies send a message that you dont existor that you shouldntits devastating. Despite ample evidence that trans people have existed in most cultures throughout history, and the medical consensus that trans people can live healthy, productive lives, many governments continue to impose barriers on trans people that can make it almost impossible to survive.

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Military court: Army must not refer to WikiLeaks leaker Manning as a male