This week has seen a steady stream of appalling, transphobic executive orders from the new administration. We shouldn’t minimize the harm these will cause—but we can find some hope in the actions already being taken to stop them.
Please note that I have linked to the executive orders for those who wish to reference them, but that they do contain transphobic rhetoric. Use care if you click through.
The executive order (EO) recognizing only two sexes and requiring that federal identification, protections, and accommodations be based on assigned sex at birth will have many awful consequences. Among them is that trans federal prisoners will be housed by that assigned sex, not by their lived gender identity. A transgender woman in federal prison filed a lawsuit Sunday with the help of GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), arguing that this violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Yesterday, Judge George O’Toole of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts issued a temporary restraining order that means she can stay in a women’s facility while O’Toole considers whether to issue a longer injunction. That’s not a full win, but it’s an important step.
A lawsuit is also underway, from eight plaintiffs, GLAD Law, and NCLR challenging the EO that bans transgender people from military service, which I wrote about yesterday. Another one is expected shortly from Lambda Legal and HRC.
Then came the EO that bans gender-affirming medical care for “children” under 19, which ignores the fact that 18-year-olds are legal adults. The ban includes puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and surgeries (and uses inaccurate and offensive terms instead of “gender-affirming care”), and makes it sound like these are rampant practices, although puberty blockers and hormones for minors are rare and surgeries even rarer, per two Harvard studies. For the youth who do receive them, however, they can have positive and even life-saving impacts (and puberty blockers have been used for more than three decades for cisgender youth experiencing precocious puberty).
Lambda Legal and HRC are preparing to take action against this EO. Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, senior counsel and health care strategist for Lambda Legal, said in a statement:
This broadside condemns transgender youth to extreme and unnecessary pain and suffering, and their parents to agonized futility in caring for their child—all while denying them access to the same medically recommended health care that is readily available to their cisgender peers…. We fought previous attempts by the first Trump administration to restrict health care and we won. We stand ready to fight back against this even more pernicious effort to deny medically necessary health care to our youth.
Although some clinics, such as ones at Denver Health and Virginia Commonwealth University, are starting to cancel appointments for gender affirming care for those under 19 in response to the EO, others, such as Mass General Brigham and others in the Boston area, have said they will continue care until “agencies issue regulations implementing these changes and/or legal challenges are exhausted,” per WBUR.
ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio, a trans man himself, also posted Wednesday on Facebook, “If your child (under 19) has their gender-affirming medical care appointment cancelled suddenly following today’s EO please DM me immediately.” I expect the ACLU is revving up its legal engines. Strangio, who argued a recent trans-rights case at the U.S. Supreme Court, is on Instagram, too, and worth following for information and inspiration, regardless of whether you need immediate assistance.
In response to another EO, which attempts to withhold federal funds from schools that teach “gender ideology,” “equity ideology,” or support trans and nonbinary students in social transition (e.g., by using their requested names and pronouns), the California Department of Education observed yesterday on Facebook: “It is against federal law for the White House to dictate what educators can and cannot teach by threatening to defund essential public services for students.” That’s encouraging; and while no specific lawsuits are mentioned, I expect we’ll see some (from California or elsewhere) in the coming weeks. Lambda Legal McDonald/Wright Senior Attorney Nicholas Hite said in a statement that his organization “is actively considering potential courses of action.”
Meanwhile, San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Maria Su “sent out a districtwide email Thursday reiterating her support for queer and trans students,” per the Bay Area Reporter. Su also reaffirmed the district’s commitment to a Pride celebration and to the second annual Superintendent’s Rainbow Read Aloud “to promote literacy and highlight stories of resilience and acceptance.” Other school systems across the country have likewise expressed their intent to continue supporting trans students, as Erin in the Morning reports.
What horrifies me most about the EOs is the dehumanizing, insulting, and inaccurate language they use, which I won’t repeat here. Let’s remember: Transgender and nonbinary identities are valid. Intersex people exist. Trans people have no less honor and integrity than cisgender people, taking either group as a whole. And we cis allies need to step up and help them fight this war against their very existence.
Things may get worse before they get better, and we shouldn’t minimize the negative impact all of this is already having on trans people, including children, but I’m heartened by seeing what’s already being done to combat the misinformation and hate.
Resources for Support and Action
First, check in with your trans family members and friends and see how they’re doing and what they may need from you. If you wish to take action against these orders or other anti-trans actions (and all of us cis people should do so in active allyship):
- Advocates for Trans Equality has a useful collection of suggestions for how to support trans people individually and in the wider world.
- Contact your elected officials and tell them to oppose anti-trans actions at the local, state, and federal levels, as appropriate.
- If your financial means allow, consider donating to any of the organizations mentioned in this post, or any of the many others who are also working against anti-trans policies and rhetoric.
There is a huge community of support out there. If you or your loved ones are in need of legal assistance, you can reach out to:
- GLAD Answers Legal InfoLine
- Lambda Legal’s Help Desk
- NCLR Legal Information Hotline
- The Transgender Law Center Legal Information Helpdesk
You may also wish to know about:
- The Trans Legal Survival Guide from Advocates for Trans Equality.
- The Trans Youth Emergency Project, which offers logistical and financial support to families needing access to gender-affirming care.
Trans-led sources of news and information include:
- Assigned Media, a transgender news website.
- Erin in the Morning, the website of trans journalist Erin Reed.
Two terrific recent books that share the voices of real trans youth are:
- American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era, by Nico Lang (Abrams), which offers in-depth portraits of eight trans youth and their families.
- Trans Kids, Our Kids: Stories and Resources from the Frontlines of the Movement for Transgender Youth, by Adam Polaski, Alexis Stratton, and Jasmine Beach-Ferrara of the Campaign for Southern Equality (Ig Publishing), a vital and informative look at the real youth and families impacted by anti-trans laws.
