<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Just a day after being sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, Private Bradley Manning released a statement expressing a desire to live as a woman.\n\"As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female,\" reads a statement Manning released exclusively to NBC News.\nThe statement reads that Manning would like to begin implementing the change at once.\n\"Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible,\" the statement reads. \"I hope that you will support me in this transition.\"\nDuring the trial, Manning's lawyers presented an email Manning wrote to a former supervisor about being transgender in April 2010.\n\"This is my problem. I've had signs of it for a very long time,\" the email reads. \"I thought a career in the military would get rid of it. It's not something I seek out for attention and I've been trying very very hard to get rid of it by placing myself in situations where it would be impossible.\"\nA photo of Manning wearing a blond wig and lipstick was included with the email.\nManning, in the statement read on Today, requested to be called Chelsea and referred to using feminine pronouns going forward, \"except in official mail to the confinement facility.\"\n\"I look forward to receiving letters from supporters and having the opportunity to write back,\" the statement concludes.\nNBC tweeted a picture of Manning's signature on the statement.\n\nChelsea Manning signature on exclusive statement to TODAY. Photo: pic.twitter.com/VsYIyQyE27\n\u2014 TODAY (@todayshow) August 22, 2013\n\nYou can read the full statement here.\nImage: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images\n      window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement('script');js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);};\n_msla(\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\",\"twitter_jssdk\");"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/08/22/bradley-manning-chelsea-female/>