Kristin Beck

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Kristin Beck
Beck in November 2012
Beck in November 2012
Birth name Christopher T. Beck
Born (1966-06-21) June 21, 1966 (age 57)
Allegiance  United States of America
Service/branch  United States Navy
Years of service 1990–2011
Rank SCPO collar.png Senior chief petty officer
Unit US Navy SEALs insignia.png U.S. Navy SEALs
Awards Bronze Star ribbon.svg Bronze Star with Combat Distinguishing Device
Purple Heart BAR.svg Purple Heart
Defense Meritorious Service ribbon.svg Defense Meritorious Service Medal (2)
Other work Author

Kristin Beck (born Christopher T. Beck; June 21, 1966) is a former United States Navy SEAL who gained public attention in 2013 when she came out as a trans woman. She published her memoir in June 2013, Warrior Princess: A U.S. Navy SEAL's Journey to Coming out Transgender detailing her experiences.[1]

Beck served in the U.S. Navy for twenty years and is the first openly transgender former U.S. Navy SEAL. The Atlantic Wire, Salon, and Huffington Post have speculated that Beck's story may lead the Department of Defense to revisit its policies against transgender people openly serving in the U.S. military.

Early life and education

Born in June 1966, Beck grew up on a farm. As early as the age of five, Beck was drawn to feminine clothes and toys, but was encouraged to adopt masculine roles by her parents.[2] Before transitioning, Beck married twice, and has two sons from the first marriage.[3][4] She recounts in her memoir how her gender dysphoria contributed to her inability to emotionally mature while being in a male body, and added conflict to her sexual identity, although Beck never really felt gay.[5] Additionally, Beck's duties as a U.S. Navy SEAL kept her on missions away from home, which distanced her from family members.[5] Before enlisting in the United States Navy, Beck attended Virginia Military Institute from 1984 through 1987.[6]

Career

File:Chris Beck, Navy Seal.jpg
Beck in September 2011
File:Warrior Princess (book) cover.jpeg
The book cover of Warrior Princess

United States Navy

Beck served for 20 years in the U.S. Navy SEALs before her transition, and took part in 13 deployments, including seven combat deployments. Beck was a member of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (also known as DEVGRU), a special counter-terrorism unit popularly called SEAL Team Six, and received multiple military awards and decorations, including a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.[7] Beck told Anderson Cooper she wanted to be a SEAL because they were the "toughest of the tough."[8]

Beck retired from the Navy in 2011 and began transitioning by dressing as a woman. In 2013, she began hormone therapy, preparing herself for sex reassignment surgery.[9] During an interview with Anderson Cooper in early June 2013, she stated that she never came out during her military career, and that "No one ever met the real me."[8] After coming out publicly in 2013 by posting a photo of herself as a woman on LinkedIn, Beck received a number of messages of support from her former military colleagues.[10]

Warrior Princess

Beck co-wrote Warrior Princess with Anne Speckhard, a psychologist at the Georgetown University School of Medicine. Speckhard was doing a study on resilience of the U.S. Navy SEALs, that is, the coping mechanisms employed by SEALs to deal with their intense job demands. Speckhard first met Beck at a counter-terrorism conference.[1] After Beck agreed to discuss coping mechanisms, a follow-up meeting took place in a gay bar, with Beck now dressed in female attire, to Speckhard's surprise. A five-hour meeting led to Speckhard agreeing to help Beck write her life story.[2]

In the book, Speckhard notes that Beck had a desire to die honorably "so that [she] wouldn't have to wrestle anymore with the emotional pain that stemmed from the lack of congruency between [her] gender identity and body."[11] In her introduction to the book, Beck writes:

I do not believe a soul has a gender, but my new path is making my soul complete and happy...I hope my journey sheds some light on the human experience and most importantly helps heal the "socio-religious dogma" of a purely binary gender.[11]

OutServe Magazine praised the book, calling it "one of the smartest and most important books of the year."[12] The Huffington Post noted that while the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was repealed in 2011, the ban on openly transgender people serving in the U.S. armed forces still remains.[11] Days before the release of Warrior Princess, Metro Weekly's Poliglot column reported that the Pentagon had celebrated LGBT Pride Month in a memo while avoiding mention of transgender military personnel; the Pentagon memo read in part: "We recognize gay, lesbian and bisexual service members and LGBT civilians for their dedicated service to our country."[13] The Atlantic Wire said that the book could "lay the groundwork for even greater inclusion in the armed forces," and Salon stated that Beck's military credentials may "lead the Pentagon to revisit its policy against trans service members."[14][15] While restrictions on sexual orientation have been lifted, restrictions on gender identity remain in place due to Department of Defense regulations; thus transgender people are still barred from joining any branch of the U.S. military.[16]

Lady Valor

Lady Valor: The Kristin Beck Story, a documentary, aired on CNN on September 4, 2014.[17][18]

Congressional Campaign

In August 2015, CNN said that Kristin Beck is running for Congress to represent Maryland's 5th Congressional District.[19] The campaign is ongoing as of 2016, according to www.beck4congress.us.[20] The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections will be held on November 8, 2016

Awards and decorations

See also

References

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External links

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