There was a 'Malcolm in the Middle' episode which addressed this.
Reese ran off and enlisted in the Army as a 17-year-old, was deployed to Afghanistan, and when he got there, immediately deserted. He wore a burka to conceal who he was as he wandered around trying to get back home.
Turns out some Afghanistan dude wanted to marry him.
Reese: "I told him I was really a guy, but he said it wasn't a deal-breaker!"
Life imitates art.