Chelsea Manning describes ‘devastation’ at being forced to cut hair in first column about transitioning

The whistleblower has joined Medium to blog about life as a transgender woman in a military prison

Chelsea Manning is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence (Reuters)

Chelsea Manning has described the “humiliation” she felt after being told she would have to keep her hair short during her time in military prison.

In her first column for Medium, entitled ‘Military Haircuts’, Manning described the personal challenges she faced after being forced to cut her hair short in line with male standards.

The US whistleblower is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence after being convicted of espionage for leaking over 700,000 classified documents to Wikileaks.

Manning, who is transgender, is currently serving her prison sentence at the Fort Leavenworth men’s military prison. She contributes to The Guardian, providing her with an important platform to communicate her experiences.

But Manning said she almost gave up writing after being told her hair would have to remain very short by prison officials.

She writes: “I didn’t take the news well. I felt sick. I felt sad. I felt gross — like Frankenstein’s monster wandering around the countryside avoiding angry mobs with torches and pitch forks.

“I called Chase Strangio, my ACLU lawyer, and I cried. As my legal counsel, he represents me in this lawsuit to challenge the hair policy that makes and treats me like a monster or a problem. But I just wanted love and support, and someone to cry to when I was feeling alone. He did such a wonderful job just listening to me.”

Manning is hoping to use her experience of transitioning from male to female while inside a military prison to open up a conversation with her supporters on the outside.

“Going through such a seismic, existential shift in my life - transitioning in a military prison - presents real, meaningful, and daily challenges.

“I want to hear your thoughts and questions so we can continue to have a dialogue.”