President Trump’s executive order proclaiming that the U.S. recognizes only “two sexes, male and female” poses a crisis for transgender people.
Amid a nationwide rise in hate crimes against transgender people, this crisis effectively erases transgender people’s existence in the legal, health and education spheres.
There are an estimated 1.6 million Americans aged 13 and older who identify as transgender; 1.3 million of these are adults, representing less than 1% of the U.S. adult population, according to a 2022 study from UCLA’s Williams Institute.
Yet, measures targeting this small portion of the country’s population have harmful and even fatal impacts.
The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ youth, found an overall increase of nearly 700% in volume across its crisis lines last Inauguration Day, compared to the weeks leading up to it. In January alone, calls increased by 33%.
In his January 20 inaugural address, Trump declared, “As of today, the official policy of the United States is that there are only two genders—male and female.” He later signed an executive order reinforcing this biological definition, claiming it was a measure to “protect women and ensure their safety.”
At a roundtable discussion held in response by Ethnic Media Services on Friday, January 31, Dr. Ilan H. Meyer of the Williams Institute warned, “This is not just a policy shift. It is outright violence. Anti-transgender policies like this influence societal attitudes and contribute to increased hate crimes.”
According to the California Department of Justice, hate crimes against transgender individuals in Los Angeles County surged to 99 incidents in 2023, marking a 125% increase from the previous year.
Meyer pointed out that under this federal mandate, transgender individuals in prisons and shelters could be placed based on their biological sex rather than their gender identity, increasing their vulnerability.
Gael Mateo Jerez-Urquia from the San Diego LGBTQ Center confirmed that transgender youth have increasingly expressed anxiety and depression following the policy announcement.
“We’ve seen a surge in inquiries about name and gender marker changes in recent weeks,” Jerez-Urquia stated.
Bamby Salcedo of the TransLatina Coalition expressed outrage, stating, “We’ve already witnessed numerous states pushing legislation to restrict transgender rights. This executive order is not merely administrative—it fundamentally denies our existence.”
Jordan Willow Evans of the Outsider Media Foundation criticized Trump’s order, saying, “This goes against the Republican Party’s core values of personal freedom. The government is irresponsibly overriding parental and medical authority with a one-size-fits-all gender policy.”
Sailor Jones, associate director of Common Cause North Carolina, echoed these concerns.
“I believed that the president’s role was to protect all citizens,” he said. “This order is nothing more than an attempt to erase the transgender community. Now, more than ever, we must raise our voices and create safer spaces.”
Legal experts predict that Trump’s policy will face significant legal challenges.
However, LGBTQ advocacy groups remain resolute.
“We will not disappear, and this executive order cannot erase our existence,” said Salcedo.
