Trump Administration Pushes to Change Definition of Gender

The current presidential administration is trying to change the definition of gender.

A definition of sex, proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services, would be that sex is determined at birth and unchangeable. This would result in the millions of transgender Americans not being recognized as the gender they identify with. It would also allow for only two genders, male and female.

This new proposed definition is part of something much bigger.

The Trump administration revoked the rights of transgender students to use the bathrooms that align with the gender they identify with in February of 2017.

The Office of the Attorney General wrote a memo titled “Revised Treatment of Transgender Employment Discrimination Claims Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964” on Oct. 4, 2017. The memo questioned Title VII’s accuracy as far as gender-based discrimination.

As of January, health care providers can deny care for religious or moral reasons. This targeted women hoping for reproductive care and people in the LGBT+ community.

In March, the administration banned transgender people from serving in the military.

While having a strict definition of sex may seem like no big deal, it is effectively erasing the identity of millions of transgender Americans. The definition is a small part of a much bigger issue.

The rights of transgender people have never been held to a high enough standard. The right to go to the bathroom of the gender they identify with was only allowed for about a year. Now, their rights are being taken away more and more.