One of President Donald Trump’s day-one executive orders was an attack on transgender people across the country – an attack causing irreparable damage to the mental health of many.
On Jan. 20, the “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” executive order was signed. While on its face the order promotes the defense of women, the contents are nothing but anti-transgender.
“It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” the order states. “These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”
Days following its signing, the Department of State “froze all applications with “X” sex markers and changes to gender identity,” according to The Guardian. The “X” sex marker was previously used to note nonbinary identities.
To see such blatant anti-transgender orders immediately after Trump’s inauguration was horrific to people nationwide.
To have to sit back and watch as Trump continues to use scare tactics regarding trans people while claiming it is in “defense of women” is insulting.
As a woman, I’ve never been scared of transgender people. However, I’m terrified of Trump and what his administration is doing to the rights of people I love.
LGBTQ+ community members at WKU and beyond are concerned about the damage Trump’s policies have on their mental health.
Nandy Shemwell is a sophomore theater major at Owensboro Community and Technical College and a proud Daviess County High School alumn. Shemwell is a trans-man who uses he/him pronouns.
“I will never understand how anyone could vote for him,” Shemwell said. “I fear for my friends, my future, and my life as a disabled, autistic, diabetic, Black man. I’m a huge target. Gods know what could happen in the next four years.”
Shemwell is not the only person who lives in fear of Trump’s administration.
Mycal “Mikey” Caster is a WKU student majoring in dance and psychology and is involved with Christian ministries on campus. Caster uses they/them pronouns and explains their sexuality and gender as very fluid.
When reflecting on Trump’s presidential win, Caster said, “I knew that it was going to be a really bad next four years.”
Caster was upset at the news of the anti-trans executive order.
“I really don’t like (it),” Caster said. “I guess I don’t understand the obsession with trans people or gay people.”
The judgment LGBTQ people experience is another point of contention for Caster.
“It really doesn’t make any sense to me why people are so judgmental about those things because at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter,” Caster said. “Who I kiss, who I talk to, who I love, does not affect the next person.”
Throughout everything, fear is one emotion that stands out among the rest.
“I’d say for the most part, I’m just afraid,” Ember Day said.
Day is a lesbian trans-woman from Owensboro, Kentucky, who uses she/her pronouns. She enjoys writing and watching sitcoms.
The most frightening part about Trump’s executive orders? For Day, it’s the inability to escape.
“The biggest thing is the blocking of passports,” Day said about the denials of passports with changes to gender identity. “It’s stopping trans people, such as myself, from fleeing the country.”
The fear experienced by LGBTQ+ community members is not something they should have to face.
“Never in my life have I been made to feel so scared to be myself,” Day said. “I have been out for three years and it feels like now I’m being forced back in the closet.”
An order titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” signed on Jan. 28, furthered the ideology proposed by the initial order.
This order focused on stopping gender-affirming care – such as hormone blockers and surgical procedures such as top surgery – for people under the age of 19.
“I think it’s what we all knew was coming,” Day said. “I’m in hormone therapy right now, so it is extremely frightening.”
Online discourse about the order is rampant. According to the National Institute of Health, many people flock to the internet for “psychosocial support and self-care for mental health problems.”
I connected online with transgender young adults from across the country who were distressed about the order denying gender-affirming care.
Vance Dotter is a transgender man who uses he/him/it/its pronouns. He studies anthropology at Kutztown University in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, and has been on testosterone for a year and a half.
“Right now, facing the regulations Trump is pushing against my community, I am afraid for my future,” Dotter said. “The restriction on gender-affirming care for people under 19 is going to result in a lot of suicides in the transgender community. In my own experience, before I started taking testosterone, I was depressed and filled with self-loathing that prevented me from taking care of myself.”
Dotter fears for his community across the country who may not be able to access the same life-saving treatments he could.
“Pennsylvania is a safer place for the moment as a transgender man,” Dotter said. “I’m confident in my ability to fly through these next four years, but my community is suffering.”
Back in Kentucky, opinions on the order have not changed much. Avery Hunt is a WKU junior Environmental Science and Technology major who identifies as a genderqueer lesbian and uses they/them pronouns.
Like Dotter, Hunt fears for their community as a whole.
“I am completely heartbroken, yet not surprised, to hear about President Trump’s recent executive order aimed to restrict gender-affirming care for those under 19,” Hunt said. “The executive order is just another order that aims to take away the protection and rights of those in the LGBTQ community.”
Hunt is rightfully angered by the order – but again, fear rears its ugly head.
“I, as I’m sure others in the community, are left furious, devastated and worried for our future,” Hunt said. “This executive order will not try to protect our trans youth – it will try to eradicate them.”
Amid all the anger, sadness and fear, one thing is achingly evident about Trump’s agenda: he has no regard for those affected by his orders.
And the effects of the mistreatment of transgender people are real.
According to a 2021 study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, “Transgender people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to experience violent victimization, including rape, sexual assault, and aggravated or simple assault.”
Transgender people should not be treated as monstrous villains who harm others, especially when they are more likely to be victims of violent crimes themselves.
I wish Donald Trump could hear the stories of people he’s affecting. I wish he could better understand that transgender people are not a terror to our nation. I wish he knew the executive order he’s put into place is endangering the people he was elected to serve.
Transgender Americans have massive targets on their backs, and we as a society need to wake up. We need to acknowledge that transgender people are simply that – people. They are people trying to feel comfortable in themselves, succeed in their education, get their degrees and ultimately just be happy.
Aren’t we all trying to do the same?
People need to stop examining their differences and focus on the common ground. If not, these next four years will rip our country to shreds.
