Katelyn Lee/OutWrite
Content warning: mention of suicide, discussions of transphobia.
President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, 2025. As of Jan. 24th, Trump has already signed numerous harmful executive orders. In addition to pardoning over 1,000 individuals charged with offenses during the attack on the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization, he has also revoked 78 executive orders signed by former President Joseph Biden.
According to CNN, these revoked executive orders include policies that “required federal agencies to extend prohibitions on sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity,” and “an order that allowed transgender people to serve in the US military,” in addition to countless others. (Of course, the inclusion of queer folks in the U.S. military is a form of pinkwashing instead of a step toward queer liberation, but Trump’s actions take away transgender people’s agency either way.) These policies protected members of the LGBTQ+ community from being discriminated against. With them gone, our community is no longer guaranteed protection from discrimination by the federal government.
Trump also issued an order defining sex as “an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female.” First of all, the order is based on the idea that there are only two biological sexes, which is scientifically false. According to NYU Scienceline, “sex chromosomes and gender expression vary widely.” Intersex people, for example, are born with physical characteristics that don’t fit into one sex binary. The mere existence of intersex people proves that sex is not an “immutable biological classification as either male or female.”
Furthermore, what we now call “transgender” isn’t a new thing. Evidence of transgender people’s existence goes back to 5000 BCE. This is not a modern phenomenon caused by “a subjective sense of self unmoored from biological facts,” as the president claims. This is something that has always been around. Sex is changeable, and it certainly does not fit into only one of two categories, a fact supported by both history and biology. This platform of transphobia and institutional denial of the existence of transgender people that President Trump supports will only result in the injury and deaths of thousands of transgender individuals. Already, 40% of transgender people have attempted suicide at some point in their lives, due to the alienation and discrimination they experience. That number does not need to be higher.
This order claims to be protecting women from “men [who] self-identify as women and gain access to intimate single-sex spaces and activities designed for women.” The order states that “government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, [must] accurately reflect the holder’s sex.” This revokes the ability for people to choose a marker of “X” as their gender on official government documents.
It’s daunting to live in a time when you know that your government — a government that prides itself on being for the people — doesn’t care about protecting you. OutWrite is fortunate enough to be based in Los Angeles, an incredibly liberal part of the United States. But other people aren’t so lucky. Hundreds of thousands of people will be affected by the hate, misunderstanding, and apathy of Trump and those who put him in office.
In times like these, it’s important to be prepared. President Trump has already shown that prior actions taken to protect the LGBTQ+ community don’t matter and we are at risk. Know how to get a passport and passport card (since these legal documents are soon to be subject to change), whether that means applying for a new one or renewing your current one. Note that it can take 4-6 weeks to renew your passport, so it’s best to start as early as possible. Make sure you have gathered copies of any name/gender change documentation that you have, and keep them in a safe place. If you are considering acquiring birth control, it’s also smart to begin the process now in preparation for any legislation that might prohibit access to it.
It’s a rough time to live in, especially for the transgender members of our community, but we need to remember that we are not alone. Queer and transgender people have always existed and always will. The actions of one hateful man will never change that. There’s a community of people right behind you, standing at your side. If you’re struggling, there are many LGBTQ+ support lines available to help you through these times. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) offers a list of resources for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. If you feel alone, Everywhere is Queer has a map that shows you that queer community exists all around you. For any UCLA students, our OutWrite community is here for you, along with many other queer student organizations.
The world might be scary right now, but we will survive it just as we’ve survived everything else: by sticking together. Remember, you are not alone.