Donald Trump‘s most recent attack on the LGBTQ community comes in the form of a ban on transgender athletes. His new Executive Order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” removes protections for trans athletes formerly granted under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. By rescinding funding and otherwise penalizing educational institutions and certain athletic associations, the EO will predictably lead to the exclusion of trans people from sports. Now, some U.S. politicians and advocacy groups are speaking out against the president’s transphobic order.
New Trump Executive Order Targets Trans Athletes
The Executive Order strips Title IX protections from trans athletes, but it also furthers the social erasure of trans men by essentially (and conveniently) just pretending they don’t exist. In Trump’s transphobic and anti-science rhetoric, transmen and boys who want to compete with other men and boys don’t exist or at least don’t matter. The White House has instead maintained a laser-like focus on transwomen and girls in an attempt to frame the issue as one of protecting cisgender girls and women.
Despite the president’s claims, research has shown that trans people don’t possess inherent advantages in sports. The claim that transwomen and girls are somehow cheating or putting cisgender athletes at risk or some disadvantage is simply untrue.
GLAAD, the ACLU, and Gender Justice were only a few of the groups to speak out against Trump and his attacks on trans athletes and others. While Rep. Al Green (D, TX) and other Democrats push for an all-but-impossible impeachment, Minnesota Rep. Leigh Finke (DFL) joined the chorus of those condemning the president’s Executive Order. Rep. Finke spoke out against the war on trans rights in the U.S. in a Bluesky post, saying, “Inclusion is not a threat.” As one commenter put it,
Trans athletes are not a problem, bigots with too much power and too little intelligence are. Using women and girls “safety” as an excuse for tyranny that only endangers us all is an old playbook. 🩵🤍🩷
The “Bans Off Our Bodies” signs at the People’s March are just one indication of the resistance the White House faces. Despite the backlash, there’s little indication that Trump will stop. With Republicans in control of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidency, combating Trump’s agenda through policy and legislation is unlikely. Instead, direct action and community organizing may be the keys to protecting trans people and restoring the rights they’ve been robbed of.
