Existence in a Trumpian Society

The news this week broke that Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, would declare war on the existence and civil rights of trans people should he be re-elected in the 2024 US Presidential elections. I thought I would react more negatively to the news. I thought I would be surprised, shocked, horrified, appalled, but I wasn’t. I enjoy writing out my thoughts, so I decided to head down the rabbit trail of the all-too familiar anti-trans rhetoric that has been building to a climax over the past few years.

Last week, Laverne Cox, American Actress and Trans Activist, summed up how the entire Community is feeling after seeing the newest anti-transgender bills flooding the states, and now hearing the bigoted rhetoric spewing from Donald Trump’s mouth. In a powerful statement that should take root in the heart of every transgender individual to give them hope and determination, Ms. Cox states, “So they don’t want trans people to exist, that is really what this whole project is about, and you can’t make us not exist, that just doesn’t work.”(1) This should stir hope and determination in each person currently feeling hopeless and defeated. Trans people will not be erased.

Ms. Cox continued in making a vital connection between the current rise in anti-sematism and anti-trans laws we are seeing throughout the nation:

“One of the first things that they Nazi’s did, I think it was in 1933, was they burned Magnus Hirschfeld Gender for Sexuality.(2) Magnus Hirschfield was studying trans people, LGBTQ people…the Nazi’s burned it down, all of this research…So in this rise in ant-sematism, we see this rise, this documented rise in anti-trans legislation and rhetoric. These are not a coincidence.”(3)

To view the atrocious video in question, this author downloaded and created an account on Mr. Trump’s “Truth Social” platform so you wouldn’t have to. In the almost 4 -minute video, Mr. Trump spews a variety of bigoted rhetoric enough to make any sane person sick to their stomach. This article sums up the main points in his rant:

1. He will create a federal taskforce to police and halt all gender-affirming care for minors, equating gender-affirming care with “child abuse.”

2. He will prohibit any federal agency from providing gender-affirming care or referring someone for gender-affirming care at any age, insinuating that he will make it a criminal act to provide such healthcare to a person.

3. He will ask Congress to pass a law only recognizing two genders in the United States, Male and Female.

4. He will create an easy process for individuals that express regrets over their transition to bring a lawsuit against the doctors that provided them with gender-affirming healthcare.

5. He will investigate hospitals and “Big Pharma” to see if they “deliberately covered up long-term side effects of sex transitions in order to get rich.”(4)

6. He will cut off doctors and healthcare organizations from Medicaid and Medicare if they provide gender-affirming care.

7. He will extend his policies to the education system, working to ensure that the education system promotes the role of the “nuclear family,” and “celebrating, rather than erasing, the things that make men and women different.”(5)

8. He will impose severe punishments on teachers and schools that would suggest to a child they may be suffering from gender-dysphoria, including “civil rights violations for sex discrimination.”(6)

9. He will impose a law barring trans women from competing in women’s sports.

10. He will enforce policies allowing parent to decide the gender for their child, effectively eliminating any human and civil rights that children are currently afforded.

Mr. Trump goes on to say that “In all of human history nobody’s heard of this what’s happening today, it was all when the radical left invented it just a few years ago. Under my leadership, this madness will end.”(7) Trans people have existed since the dawn of time. The (Jewish) Talmud recognizes 6 genders. Records of trans and nonbinary individuals are littered through history. The (Christian) Bible speaks of Eunichs, one being an Ethiopian rumored to be the first Gentile convert to Christinaity.

Despite no evidence for Mr. Trump’s claims in his video, the supporting comments continue to pile on. There are some that push back, demanding evidence to back the egregious claims, but their demands remain unanswered, and while they receive criticism for voicing concerns over misinformation being spread by such a popular political figure. To dispel some of this misinformation, rebuttals to some of the points made by Mr. Trump have been listed below:

1. Gender-Affirming Care as “Child Abuse.”

Not only does gender affirming care for minors not constitute child abuse, but it has also proven life-saving for trans and non-binary youth. According to Dr. Meredithe McNamara, “trans and non-binary youth who do not receive gender affirming care face a 40% lifetime risk of a suicide attempt. Mental health outcomes improve significantly with the medication aspects of gender affirming care. The vast majority of those who receive gender-affirming care do not regret transition in adulthood.”(8)

The American Civil Liberties Union has gathered statements from respected doctors and medical facilities across the nation, denouncing the misinformation and fearmongering being spread by certain political parties regarding Gender-Affirming care for youth. Dr. Terrance D. Weedon (Pediatrician & Adolescent Medicine Fellow, Alabama), Dr. Michele Hutchinson (Pediatrician, Arkansas), Dr. Nadia Dowshen (Pediatrician, Maryland), Dr. Jack Turban (Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, California) all assert their professional observations that youth receiving reversible gender-affirming care are highly less-likely to attempt or commit suicide."(9)

2. Creating laws to prohibit medical providers from providing Gender-Affirming care or referring an individual to such care.

These types of laws could only extend to federally recognized healthcare facilities and providers. Private institutions and providers are still currently able to provide healthcare free from government intervention. Even if these laws attempted to force their way into privatized institutions, they would not succeed in passing in the 4-year term limit that Mr. Trump would have.

3. Only two federally recognized genders, Male and Female.

Intersex people exist. Scientifically, chromosomes, biology and gender construct are much more intrinsic than people are aware of or believe. Most people don’t believe that intersex people exist, or that one in one-hundred births result in characteristics differing form typical “male” and “female” traits.(10) Attempting to pass a law like this would open a medical Pandora’s Box, which would likely take years to battle out in court, during which time the 4-year presidential term limit would come to an end.

4. Transition regrets and ensuing lawsuits.

According to Dr. McNamara, “The vast majority of those who receive gender-affirming care do not regret transition in adulthood.”(11) In this author's personal experience, they have only seen a few “detrans,” and while some of them do regret their personal decision to transition, they acknowledge that everyone’s bodily autonomy takes priority over another person or group’s preferences. There are a few “bad apples” in the detrans community that do begin spreading lies, misinformation, and fearmonger to the public, supporting laws that would restrict or ban trans people from being allowed to transition. This author personally suspects they may never have been trans to begin with.

5. Big Pharma exploiting youth to “get rich.”

While there is, quite literally, no merit to this accusation, this author concedes that Big Pharma does indeed exploit any person reliant on medication for their health and survival. Their crime includes exponentially increasing the pricing of, say, insulin for Diabetics. If Mr. Trump wishes to probe “Big Pharma,” he must ensure that the investigation includes all medications, not just hormone replacement therapies and hormone suppressants for a certain class of people.

6. Instructing schools to push the traditional role of man and woman.

This type of education runs dangerously close to the 1960 beliefs that a woman’s place is in the kitchen while her husband’s is in the workplace. Are we, as a nation that has progressed so much, prepared to regress as equally or more? Do we want our daughters being taught they are less than a man? That they aren’t as valuable in society as their male classmates and counterparts. This is not something, as a society, we should encourage or stand for. We are the country of progression, not regression.

7. Imposing civil-rights violations on teachers or school officials that suggest a youth may be suffering with gender identity-related health concerns.

The whole premise around Mr. Trumps’ arguments is that parents have complete autonomy over their children. This within itself is a civil rights violation. A law like this would solidify to the world that Mr. Trump does not believe that children are human and deserve the same rights as other humans. By taking away a child’s right to medical privacy, the doors are opening for even more human rights to be stripped away from American citizens.

There are also so many safety reasons why a child should be able to not allow their parents to know they may be struggling with gender-identity related health concerns. There has been a rise in “conversion therapy” and “Conversion Camps”, coupled with the “Troubled Teen Industry,” that leaves children abused, neglected, traumatized, and in many cases, dead. Not to mention the number of youths that are disowned and thrown out into the streets due to their sexuality or perceived sexuality. Mr. Trump states that he wants to protect children, but he is really creating more danger for them.

8. Trans women in sports.

It’s somehow always about trans women, and never about trans men. The argument behind the ban on trans women in women’s sports is based in the misinformation and ignorance that trans women retain the strength and stamina of a cisgender man, and therefore are at a biological advantage over cisgender women. Unfortunately, not only is there not a case where this story holds, but the statistics speak for itself. Trans women are not leading in women’s sports. There are currently only around 20 trans women who have won national or international competitions. To date, no higher titles have been won by trans women.(12)

This type of policy reduces athletes to their genitals instead of their abilities and is a slap in the face of those that have worked so hard to be among the best of the best in their chosen sport. Just this week, Bethany Hamilton, professional surfboarder and shark attack survivor, stated that she believes trans people should have their own sports league and shouldn’t be allowed to compete with non-trans people. She stated in a video on her Instagram account:

“I personally think that the best solution would be to create a different division so that all can have a fair opportunity to showcase their passion and talent – and I think it's really hard to imagine what the future of women's surfing will be like in 15-20 years down the road if we move forward allowing this major change."(13)

This is dangerously close to the definition of “segregation.” Is this truly what America has come full circle to? Wanting to segregate a specific group of people they deem not worthy of existing in society? Didn’t we decide in the mid-1960’s that this violated basic human decency and civil rights? Despite the overwhelming lack of evidence for the complaints, remarks, and beliefs by Mr. Trump, his followers continue to flock to the venom pouring through his lies. This is a truly frightening time.

This author chose not to cover all points that Mr. Trump made in his video. In a personal opinion, the biggest take from the past few weeks is that trans and non-binary individuals, nay, the entire LGBTQ community, are no longer safe in America. Gone are the days where respect for your fellow human beings took precedence over money and politics. Gone are the days where basic human rights and bodily autonomy were civil rights. May whatever higher power you believe in help us all if Republicans win in 2024. No one will be safe from the monsters crawling out from under the bed.

REFERENCES:

1. Laverne Cox. MSNBC Morning Joe. Jan 19th, 2023.

2. Magnus Hirschfeld Institute for Sexual Science

3. Laverne Cox. MSNBC Morning Joe. Jan 19th, 2023.

4. Donald J. Trump. TruthSocial. Feb 1st, 2023.

5. Donald J Trump. TruthSocial. Feb 1st, 2023.

6. id

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8. PawPrints; A Yale Pediatrics Blog. When the standard of gender affirming care becomes illegal, it’s everyone’s problem. Dr. Meredithe McNamara. Yale School of Medicine, May 17th, 2022. Retrieved from When the standard of gender affirming care becomes illegal, it’s everyone’s problem < Yale School of Medicine on February 3, 2023.

9. Id.

10. How Common is Intersex? InterSex Society of North America. Copyright © ISNA 1993-2008

11. PawPrints; A Yale Pediatrics Blog. When the standard of gender affirming care becomes illegal, it’s everyone’s problem. Dr. Meredithe McNamara. Yale School of Medicine, May 17th, 2022.Retrieved from When the standard of gender affirming care becomes illegal, it’s everyone’s problem < Yale School of Medicine on February 3rd, 2023.

12. Outsports. These 20 trans women have won national or international competitions or championships. Cyd Zeigler. Jan 4th, 2023. Retrieved from These 20 trans women have won national or international competitions - Outsports on February 3rd, 2023.

13. Bethany Hamilton. Instagram @bethanyhamilton (2023)