Upon returning to the office on Monday, President Trump signed an executive order stating that the U.S. government will exclusively recognize a person’s sex assigned at birth, restricting the definitions of ‘male’ and ‘female’ to their reproductive cells, and possibly retracting federal funding from initiatives that acknowledge transgender individuals or ‘gender ideology.’
Medical and legal professionals assert that the executive order dismisses the existence of sexual and gender diversity, raising concerns about the repercussions it will have on intersex, nonbinary, and transgender Americans.
Anti-transgender sentiments were pivotal to the Trump campaign. In the lead-up to the 2024 election, the campaign and Republican organizations invested millions into anti-trans television advertisements. Trump also vowed to limit access to gender-affirming healthcare and transgender involvement in sports. Trump’s executive order stipulates sex as ‘an individual’s unchangeable biological classification as either male or female’ and clarifies that ‘gender identity’ cannot factor into the definition of ‘sex,’ stressing that ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ are not interchangeable.
The order proclaims that there are merely ‘two sexes, male and female,’ defining a ‘female’ as ‘a person assigned at conception to the sex that produces the larger reproductive cell.’ The ‘male’ is described as ‘a person assigned at conception to the sex that generates the smaller reproductive cell.’
‘It’s startlingly incompatible with established scientific understanding,’ Kellan E. Baker, executive director of the Institute for Health Research & Policy at Whitman-Walker Health Services Network, expressed during an ABC News interview.
Baker pointed out that we often perceive sex ‘as a relatively straightforward, binary, immutable concept,’ yet science indicates that it is far more complex.
‘Sex is not a singular, binary, fixed attribute,’ he stated. ‘In reality, it comprises a complex array of multiple traits, some of which align, while others may not.’ The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention categorizes sex as ‘an individual’s biological status as male, female, or other. Sex is assigned at birth and associated with physical characteristics like anatomy and chromosomes.’
Notably, the executive order does not mention intersex populations. Intersex individuals possess variations in their sexual characteristics—such as genitals, chromosomes, hormones, or reproductive organs—that depart from typical expectations of male and female anatomy.
The term intersex may also encompass ‘differences of sex development.’ Not all conditions are visible at birth, as noted by MedlinePlus, a resource from the National Library of Medicine, implying that they may go undetected until later in life.
‘Numerous distinct sexual traits contribute to what we consider sex,’ Baker remarked. ‘These include chromosomes, external genitalia, gonads, and hormones.’
Baker emphasized that sexual differentiation through reproductive cells does not occur until approximately six weeks after conception, which contradicts the definition set forth in the executive order. The order claims that these definitions are a reaction to ‘efforts to erase the biological reality of sex.’
‘Invalidating the authentic and biological category of ‘woman’ undermines laws and policies aimed at safeguarding sex-based opportunities, replacing longstanding legal rights and values with an identity-centric, vague social concept,’ the order states.
Jenny Pizer, chief legal officer at LGBTQ civil rights organization Lambda Legal, informed ABC News that her group is gearing up for legal challenges against the executive order. She contends that the order might compel agencies to cease recognizing transgender or intersex individuals by curtailing funding associated with ‘gender ideology.’
The order asserts that gender ideology ‘is inherently contradictory, as it diminishes sex as a definable or useful category while simultaneously claiming that it is feasible for a person to be born in the wrong sexed body.’
It further articulates, ‘Agency forms requesting an individual’s sex shall list male or female and shall not inquire about gender identity.’
‘Given the current structure of our society, where federal funding permeates many essential systems, it remains uncertain, but it is indeed conceivable that the Trump administration will attempt to exclude or mistreat members of our community across numerous settings,’ Pizer stated.
The executive order also repeals a 2022 rule from the Biden administration that allowed individuals applying for U.S. passports to choose ‘X’ to indicate their gender. This rule, introduced by then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken, was announced on the Transgender Day of Visibility and aimed to accommodate nonbinary, intersex, and gender-nonconforming individuals.
Lambda Legal spearheaded the initiative to introduce an ‘X’ gender designation for passports. At that time, their client, Dana Zzyym, had faced rejection of their passport application due to their intersex status, which prevented them from choosing accurately between male or female options on the form, as stated by the organization.
“We will persist in supporting Dana and all intersex, nonbinary, and transgender individuals in upholding their right to identity documents that truthfully reflect who they are, along with their equal protection rights against discrimination and exclusion by their own government,” the organization declared in a statement published on its website on Monday.
During his first term, Trump enacted policies or took stances that negatively impacted the LGBTQ community. He prohibited certain transgender individuals from military service, rolled back non-discrimination health care policies established during the Obama administration, and opposed employment protections for LGBTQ workers before the Supreme Court.