(Above: photograph of Breanna Manning) Not many people know that Wikileaks source Bradley Manning, currently about to start serving a very lengthy sentence for embarrassing the United States government by leaking classified information, has a history of claiming to be a transgender woman (“Breanna”). I say “claims” because in the past he has claimed to be straight/cis-gendered, and at other times they’ve claimed to be a gay male.

It’s possible Bradley/Breanna hasn’t figured it out themselves – very few of us had all the answers right away, no? Or it’s possible it’s a scam to gain leniency. Whatever the case, I’m glad the mass media hasn’t latched onto the “transgender” label in a negative context over this.

A Portrait of the Mind of Bradley Manning – Elspeth Reeve – The Atlantic Wire.