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INTELLIGENCE OFFICER
(U) BY ANONYMOUS
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(UII~ I am an intelligenceofficer,andI ama manwho (U)Whatis crossdressing?
likesto wearwomen'sclothessometimes. I thinkmyexpe-
riencesas someonewhocrossdresses havesharpened (U)Crossdressing simplymeanswearingclothesassociated
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the skillsI useas an intelligence officer,particularly
critical witha differentgenderthanyouare.It maysoundtrivial
thinkingandperspective-taking. Thishasbeenusefulin to discussourclothing,butclothingis a bigcomponent of
understanding foreignactormotivations andHUMINTasset genderexpression, whichis importantbecauseit is howwe
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motivations. I thinkit alsohasmademea bettercolleague. thinkof ourselves.Clothingis oneof thewayswe com-
municatein-group/out-group statusto peopleandaffects
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(UII~ I wasexcitedto seethatthe ODNIin May howwe feel,physically andemotionally. It is howwe show
signedIntelligenceCommunity Directive(ICD)125 to im- , ourselvesto the world,whetherwe aremorecisgenderor
proveinclusionrelatedto genderidentity,transgender sta- moregenderexpansive. Terminology is notalwaysused
tus,genderexpression, andperceivedgender.Crossdress- accurately, andcrossdressing anddrag-which aredifferent-
ingis stillsomewhatcontroversial. I havebeensurprisedto things-both comeup.
see bothwhohasresponded favorablyto (orignored)me
crossdressing, and who has had a problem with it. It merits
attentiongiventheclimateof discussionaroundthetopic
andwhereit sits in the largerconversation
aboutgender
identityandexpression andprofessional
appearance.
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(U)Thetermcrossdressing
is morefrequentlyusedwhen identityasfixed,too,andmale,eventhoughI liketo wear
menweartraditionally
women-specificclothingthanfor dressessometimes. I seethisas similarto howwomenare
womenwearingclothingseenas men'sclothing.Thisis stillwomenif theywearpants,butpeopleseemedifferently
bothbecausetherearemorewomen-specific items-such whenI weara skirtto work.
asskirtsanddresses-andalsobecauselongstanding
genderbiasagainstwomenleadssomepeopleto question , (U)Dragis different.It isperformative
andtraditionally
whya manwouldwantto dressin women'sclothing. associated withgaymaleculture.
(U)It is challenging
for somepeopleto understand (U)Crossdressing canbe partof thejourneyof
crossdressing, andnon-binary or genderfluid people transgender peopleastheybeginto affirmtheir
becausegenderis a partof overallidentity.Manyof usthink trueidentity,butcrossdressing
is deliberately
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of ouridentitiesasfixed,andsomefindthisapproach to choosingto dresslikethegenderyouaren't.
genderthreatening to theirownidentity.I thinkof mygender
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(U) I THINI{ CROSSDRESSING HAS
MADE ME A BETTER OFFICER IN
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THE FOLLOWING WAYS:
(Ul.iiiQl,/,Q)
I'm betternowat understanding
actors.Myexperiences
foreign
dressingin feminineclothing
Y (UI/~) I'm moreawareof, andhopefully
supporting,my womencolleagues.I nowhavea better
havehelpedmerecognize andovercomemyown appreciationfor howit canbe uncomfortable to wear
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identity-based biasesandmindsets. Crossdressinghas women'sclothessometimes. I knowfirsthandhowwearing
helpedmeunderstand thatotherpeople-including heelscanmakeyourfeethurtandmakeit takelongerto
thosewestudyin the IC-experiencetheworld walksomewhere. AlthoughI likewearinga bra,I knowit
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differently.Manyin the international
relationsand isn'tcomfortable for everyone, andis lesscomfortableafter
nationalsecurityfieldscallthisstrategicempathy-the a fewhours.Ontopof the biasesthatwomenoftenfaceat
practiceof lookingat issuesfromanotherperson's work,it mustbe hardto be uncomfortable, too.
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perspective, usedto betterunderstand foreignactors.
(UI/~) / 'm better at understandingclandestine (U) I'm more awareof andhopefullysupporting
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assetsandtheirmotivations.I understand the my LGBTQIA+colleagues.Everyone is better
motivation
to keepsecretsaboutwhoyouare off if theycanbringtheirwholeselfto work.I have
andwhatyouaredoing,whichsoundssimilarto definitelyfeltthat,andnowhavesupportive allies.I
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someof theexperience of an asset.Crossdressing havemoreappreciation of thewaysthatidentityand
alsocanbea usefuldis uise,accordinto comingoutarecomplicated, anddifficult.I ampartof
e isode12 a community thatis notthe majorityandsometimes
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discriminated against,andI seehowthatfeels.
(UI/~) I'mencouraged by ICD125,andhopefulthatwecanbe an inclusiveandwelcoming workplace. EveryIC
resourceI foundon dresscodessuggeststhatdressingprofessionally, in anyclothing,is thegoal,so yourclothesdo not
distractfromwhatyou'retryingto do.WhenI crossdress,
it stilldistractspeople,eventhoughit is professional.
It is myhope
thatwecanlearnto accepta widerrangeof genderidentitiesandexpressions. Let'schoose,in thespiritandletterof
ICD125,to notto bedistracted bywhatotherpeoplewear,to acceptthem,andgetonwithourvitalwork.
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checkthisout...
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(U)YoumayhavenoticedTheDivehasa newlook.
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(U)Wehaveaddeda taglinethatspeaksto IC DEIA'sintentwith
our magazine: we seekto engagewithofficersacrossthe IC,
enlightenreadersaboutadvancements in DEIA,andempower
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everyemployeeto speaktheirtruth-which will allowourcommunity
to evolve.Thecolorsyousee-cyan, magenta,yellow,andblack-
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arethe primarycolorsusedin printingto makeall othercolors
possible.Wechoosefourcolorsbecausefouris the magicnumber
in ouroffice.Therearefourpartsto DEIA:diversity,equity,inclusion,
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andaccessibility.
Wehavefourteams:AnalysisandAssessments,
Communications andBranding,OutreachandEducation, and
StrategyandPolicy.Ourstrategyis builtaroundfourthemes:data,
partnerships,accessibility,
andtraining.Perhapsmostimportantly,
the waythe fourcolorsblendto createeveryimaginable coloris
symbolicof ouroffice'sgoalof givingthe 18IC elementsthe toolsto
createthe mostinnovative workforcepossible.
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