Hi. I am a cadet who identifies as genderfluid and I have been talking to the staff on my squadron about this.
I am wondering if someone could explain to me what sort of regulations there are as I am struggling to find many resources.
I would really appreciate it if someone could help me to understand what I am able to do on and off squadron to affirm my gender without causing unnecessary stress to the people around me
Firstly welcome to the forums. We wonāt be able to give any exact advice as that will come down to your specific circumstances which of course wonāt be posted on here.
On that note though we can absolutley point you in the right direction. Firstly, I want to make sure you are aware of the ASPIRE network within cadets, it deals with all kinds of discrimination someone could face including points relating to gender identitiy and expression. I would advise both you and your staff to contact your wing and region advisor, ideally you should have a poster somewhere on squadron with thier emails but if not your staff will be able to get these. I say both as you will likely have different sorts of questions and it will allow you to both get the best answers possible. At the end of the day the ASPIRE Wing and Regional Leads are the only ones who can give definitie answers on policy decisions to do with this.
Another to make your staff aware of is ACP015, specifically Annex G. This gives out the basics of policy on trans cadets, such as how changes of names, pronouns and gender markers on the system can be handled. It also lays out how uniform can be issued out, this can include being issued with other styles of shirt, or the skirt/trousers that you havenāt been issued with. This may depend on local availability but if itās not avaiable they should be able to include you on the next uniform order.
Being trans shouldnāt stop you from doing anything in Cadets, however there might be some extra hurdles and checks on things related to overnight camps or sporting competitions at the top levels and these can sometimes become prohibitive. These should be both rare and something staff work very hard to avoid though so please donāt think you canāt apply to anything becuase of it but the policy does mention a few things.
Also, take a read of ACP1358 paragraph 0196. (currently page 33). This lays out the basic of policy in regards to uniform that doesnāt match the exact specifications listed earlier in the document.
And finally, from one trans person to another. Donāt take into account ācausing unnecessary stressā or anything like that. I know itās hard not to think in those terms, but all staff have training and should be respectful and happy to help you in this matter. This is your life and you shouldnāt be living it by worrying about other peopleās stress from you deciding to stop hiding parts of yourself or becuase you worry it will be too āannoyingā or āconfusingā for them to deal with. Present yourself however you feel most comfortable and leave everyone else to sort themselves out. This is a chance to let everyone get to know you better, donāt give them half the person.
Best of luck @Moonray, happy to give advice any time.
I have very little to contribute policy-wise on top of @Ravenās excellent answer, but I can talk about my experiences as a nonbinary member of staff and hopefully provide some reassurance.
The RAFAC as an organisation has some very clear stances on inclusivity that at the end of the day are built with the sole goal of supporting you. In my experience, they work and they work well.
Not everything is strictly covered by policy, but the core goal of āmake sure people in the organisation are comfortable and supportedā is the key spirit of the policy, and that is what will be applied (within reason) in situations where anything is ambigious. For example, thereās a notable lack of gender-neutral equivalent for āSir/Maāamā (and god knows Iām not going to try to teach cadets to pronounce Mx Surname) and thereās no actual policy on what to do there. The obvious answer is just to go by āCIā/āCI Surnameā and so thatās what happens.
In my personal experience, Iāve yet to have any issues which arenāt just a lack of awareness and fixable by a brief reminder or quick bit of education (and I come from a squadron with a very wide range of consituent backgrounds, and all the better for it).
Iām not saying that my experiences apply to everyone, but if itās any reassurance, in the (I hope not likely) situation where there were any āproperā issues, the RAFAC will take them seriously and will support you in their resolution (via, for example, Wg/Rgn Inclusivity Leads as mentioned)
I tend to try to avoid repeating whatās already been said in a thread, but this is the one time I will gladly echo what was said above and say please donāt worry about this. As a staff member, making sure my cadets are comfortable is one of the most important things I could possibly do. Any work it takes to ensure that is absolutely not unnecessary. Where you feel comfortable to, keep up a dialogue with your staff. I know itās not always a super comfortable conversation to have, but the more your staff are aware about the more they can do to support you (i.e. with accomodation on camps) and the more you can focus on just enjoying yourself and making the most of what the organisation has to offer. Creating an environment that you can thrive in is not your burden alone, there is support and a very clear ethos and set of standards (ACP1) to back it up.
Nothing to add other than to welcome you and reassure you.
You have just as much of a right to be a part of this organisation, and to be proactively made to feel comfortable, as I do.
It may also interest you to know that as well as various active networks (such as the inclusivity network, inclusivity allies etc), we also have the likes of that network represented on the Dress Policy Steering Group.
This means we are trying to actively consider all bases when bringing about changes.
But, we need to continue building the confidence of our people to know that they can challenge without fear of reprisal. So if you ever have an idea for how we can support better, please do find a trusted member of staff so it can be raised ā no doubt others could benefit from your lived experience.
No matter how keen people like me are to support, no amount of sympathising can ever make up for a lack of lived experience. Sometimes you just canāt know unless you know.
The Folks above have really hit the nail on the head
ASPIRE are going to be a good shot, your wing or region should have an ASPIRE Point of Contact, who can help with local camps and activities. Iāll be blunt here, as a genderfluid cadet, on Overnight camps Single person accomodation isnāt usually available for cadets as we already have 4 demographics that require segregated Accom & Therefore a few beds not filled, so Itās likely youāll be accomodated with whichever Sex you were AXAB (or present as if different from AXAB) and obviously correct age group.
Raven has already spoken on Uniform, so I wonāt beat a dead horse, but as you neither Identify as a man or a woman, you could have the option of either uniform set, you canāt wear a Male shirt with a skirt, nor a female shirt with Male trousers. Issuing each item twice will likely not be allowed by your Region stores, so after speaking to your ASPIRE PoC you might have a big choice to make.
(If it were me Iād go with the female option as it includes:
As you get slacks and a skirt It gives you a Fem and Masc presenting option, although the Masc isnāt perfect)
Iād like to re-iterate the messages above of wishing you luck, Itāll be difficult (as Iām sure you already know) but our Org and people will try and accomodate your identity and ensure you are as comfortable as any other cadet. Joining the cadets is maybe one of the best choices you will make in your Life.