A woman suing the U.S. Army and Air Force for discrimination said her case centers on what certain military leaders think a “lesbian female should look like,” according to media reports.
Technical Sgt. Kristin Kingrey, who has served in the Air National Guard in West Virginia for 14 years, told the Daily Beast on Monday that she is suing the two branches for discrimination after a male supervisor in 2019 allegedly made disparaging comments about her appearance, including that she needed to grow her hair out and wear makeup. Kingrey said officials tried to intimidate her into obeying, later acting on threats to cause her professional damage.
“It leaves me in such disbelief. They have made this my life. Whenever I discuss it I am at a loss for words,” Kingrey said. “It was a completely unacceptable comment, and a completely unacceptable situation. I am fighting this case not just because what happened to me was blatantly wrong, but, most importantly, I truly hope positive change comes from my case and it prevents another individual having to walk this path, because it is a very long and dark path to walk.”
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Kingrey’s suit, filed in November with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia Charleston Division and seeking unspecified injunctive relief, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, back pay, compensatory damages, reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees, and any other equitable relief as the court deems appropriate, alleged the technical sergeant was offered and accepted a position that was then rescinded due to a supposed lack of budgetary funds. The position was then reposted and filled a few months later, the lawsuit said. She was also passed over for a different position for which she was qualified, despite the fact that her appearance never broke from regulation, the filing added.
Kingrey said there were other instances of harassment and discrimination from superiors and coworkers, including rumors that she was transitioning from female to male. Another incident included a superior forcing her to try on an Honor Guard jacket in front of her coworkers to prove that no woman size fit her, the lawsuit claimed.
Typically, the U.S. military cannot be sued by a service member, but Kingrey filed the case as a civilian because she was a dual status technician, meaning she filled a civilian position within the military. The lawsuit relied on the precedent set in the Supreme Court’s Bostock v. Clay County ruling, which determined that discrimination of employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity was also protected under Title VII.
Mike Hissam, Kingrey’s attorney, said he believes the case is viable and could win even if it takes up to two years to go through the system.
“We will be arguing that this was discrimination on the basis of sex, and discrimination on the basis of Kristin not conforming to the gender norms that the leadership of the organization thought she should conform to,” Hissam told the outlet. “We know that from some of the correspondence so far that they will argue that they cannot discriminate against lesbians because other lesbian women within the organization have thrived. What is clear is that those other lesbian women don’t have the same issues that Kristin has faced.”
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Neither branch of the military has responded to the filing. The U.S. Army said it will not comment on ongoing litigation.
