On January 20, the eyes of the whole world were on Washington. As soon as he became President, Donald Trump started fulfilling his promises. He gave several important executive orders, one of which was to recognize only two genders in the country. For years, there used to be a third gender in the US, which will no longer be officially recognized. Does this mean that people who consider themselves transgender will not have the same rights as ordinary Americans?
What is the transgender population in America?
In the US, a little more than five percent of people under the age of 30 consider themselves transgender or non-binary, that is, those who do not identify with any gender. This data is from Pew Research Center and is two years old. Meanwhile, the number increased significantly, but no one has any definite data on this.
The Williams Institute at UCLA Law School also conducted a research on this, in which it was found that more than 16 lakh people over the age of 13 in America consider themselves transgender. Apart from this, there are also those people who are not happy with the gender they were assigned at birth, but are unable to express it openly. Approximately the same number are non-binary people, who do not identify themselves with any gender.
What does it mean to be transgender?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the term transgender is used for people who consider themselves different from, or wish to be different from, the gender assigned by doctors at birth.
Got place in year 2015
Despite being a modern country, LGBTQ+ was not immediately accepted in America, but thousands of protests and campaigns were conducted for it. Things have changed a bit since the nineties. Later, in the year 2015, the Obama government made space for transgenders in many federal policies. Same sex marriages also got recognition in the same year. Besides, approval was also given for the trans couple to adopt children. Adoption agencies do a home study to see what the environment is like for the children, after which they do the legal process. Many times the application gets rejected but this rate is the same as that of normal couples during adoption.
Obama-Trump-Biden, continuous changes
Despite a lot of controversy, the Obama administration also agreed to the third gender joining the army. Later, Donald Trump had banned it, but as soon as the Biden government came to power, it was overturned by giving an executive order. Now this decision has been reversed again. Trump not only banned transgenders from joining the army, but also directly abolished the recognition of third gender.
Even before Trump came to the White House, the tide was rising against transgenders. A report by The Conversation quoted the American Civil Liberties Union as saying that this year itself, 532 anti-LGBTQ bills were passed across the country.
Of these, 208 bills limit the rights of students and teachers.
– About 70 bills are related to religious exemptions and impose many restrictions on transgenders.
– 112 bills are related to health. Like transgenders taking medical treatment to get their preferred gender.
what can happen now
Trump talked about only two genders. This means that whatever gender the hospital staff assigns to the baby at the time of birth, whether male or female, that will be his gender. Let us tell you that considering the external organs, the doctor assigns a gender to the child on the birth certificate. Those who consider themselves trans could change their gender. For this he took both legal and medical help. But now they will no longer have this right.
What will happen to those who consider themselves transgender?
A large population has changed, or is in the process of changing, their gender identity. At present it could not be decided whether they would have to return to their assigned identity, or whether they would be able to remain the same. It is certain that his path from sports to the army is almost closed. Even in government work, he is unlikely to be taken. After the recognition ends, transgenders will also have to make changes in their legal documents.
can leave the country
Till now, many states of America, like California, Massachusetts and Washington were considered more modern than other states, where transgenders were accepted. Now there may be restrictions here also. In such a situation, one way could be migration. Let us remind you that with the announcement of Trump’s victory, many videos started appearing on social media, in which third genders were talking about going to other countries. Among these, countries like Canada, Germany and Netherlands were discussed the most. There is openness about transgenders here and American people get entry easily. In such a situation, it is also possible that the trans population may go to live in other countries for some time, and continue the movement from there. However, even in Canada and Germany, there is a right-wing atmosphere, so it does not seem that the third gender population will be welcomed in the same way there too.
One way is to continue the human rights movement while living in their own country. Many NGOs are working a lot on their rights. They can also go to the Supreme Court for this. The court also has the power to overturn Trump’s executive orders, although it rarely gets involved in it.