In San Diego, the Navy has quietly removed a physician from her leadership role after her LinkedIn profile flagged her involvement with transgender healthcare. The move reflects a disturbing new tactic: weaponizing social media and silence.
Commander Janelle Marra, a career Navy doctor with 17 years of service, was notified recently that she was being reassigned, not because of medical performance, she says, but because her leadership was now under investigation following a public uproar over her pronouns and her listed involvement in transgender care.
Her wife, Cassandra, says the couple first understood what was happening when Libs of TikTok reposted Marra’s profile screenshot, highlighting her pronouns (she/her) and her title as “Deputy Medical Director for Transgender Healthcare.” That repost drew attention from nationalist voices online, one of which appeared to provoke swift action.
A Navy spokesperson framed the decision as one born of a “loss of confidence in her ability to lead,” pending an inquiry into possible social media violations. Marra, however, insists she hasn’t been fired; she’s still working at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego but stripped of leadership duties while the investigation drags on.
From Cassandra’s perspective, the timing makes the optics clear. “Nobody ever said, hey we’re dropping this, we’re stopping this, so she kept doing the job,” she told reporters, referencing Marra’s ongoing medical duties in transgender care. The irony is bitter: in an era when visibility is life, visibility may cost a career.
Part of the complexity lies in the backstory. The Navy’s own records suggest that the “Transgender Health Center” was officially shuttered during the previous administration. Marra’s appointment appears to have lingered in administrative limbo. That ambiguity benefits those eager to rewrite what’s happening here as a procedural housekeeping rather than an attack on identity and service.
The controversy gained a combustible escalation when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reposted the screenshot with a caption: “Pronouns UPDATED: She/Her/Fired.” The message was blatant, pronouns weaponized, a career threatened, a trans body on display in the crossfire.
For trans people, especially trans folks serving in the military, this case sends a message, whether intended or not: your identity can be used against you. Visibility, once a tool for acceptance, becomes a flashpoint for dismissal.
Yet for those watching, it’s not just about Janelle Marra or one Navy doctor. The episode lays bare how social media, administrative ambiguity, and institutional gaslighting conspire to undermine trans service members. When the rules are vague, the weapon is exposure, and the penalty is exclusion.
TransVitae will keep an eye on any developments in the investigation and on whether the Navy will offer accountability or a reversal. Because silence isn’t neutrality. Silence is complicity.
