Donald Trump has only been in office for a short period, and he has already begun the erasure of transgender individuals in the US government.
Donald Trump and his loyal following have made it clear that they do not support people who identify as transgender. Whether that be transgender individuals who identify as non-binary, trans men, or trans women, Trump and his following openly disagree with them and their lifestyle.
In his inauguration speech, Trump declared that the American government will only recognize two genders, male and female, and he wants to end government diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
These actions may come as a shock to people, but many knew this would happen if the American people elected Trump again.
I spoke to junior Colby Wygal, a transgender woman, days after the election was certified. As a transgender woman, Wygal was appalled and scared to see that Trump had won the election.
“It was just very disappointing and eye-opening to see that over half of our voting population, so essentially, over half of the population of this country, is opting to take my rights away,” Wygal said.
Wygal also expressed that various members of her family are Trump supporters, making her feel displaced in her own family.
“I have a lot of Trump supporters in my extended family; basically everyone besides my mom, my dad, and my brother are Trump supporters, and I’ve already felt uncomfortable about them before this, and now it feels like I can’t even, like, be a part of my family.”
At the time of my interview with Wygal, it was only speculation that Trump would strip transgender individuals of rights. But now, he is living up to these speculative thoughts and actually doing it.
Even before Trump was inaugurated, Wygal began to get scared. A feeling of impending doom was lurking around the corner.
“I have already struggled with a lot of mental health issues before this, and I was often able to rely on the idea that I would be able to graduate from college and find my own place where I’m safe and comfortable here and really develop into my own, and it feels like that’s not a possibility here anymore,” Wygal said.
Will transgender individuals like Wygal be able to grow old and flourish in America comfortably under Trump’s reign? The answer is no; unfortunately, they will not.
The executive order that Trump signed on Monday was titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” This executive order says that “sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”
This order also eliminates the use of the word “gender” and requires the use of the word “sex instead.
“[Trump’s] victory has really emboldened people to say any hateful, bigoted things that would previously be socially unacceptable, and now, because he’s won, there’s this belief among those bigoted people, that they have won their right to be bigots towards anybody,” Wygal said.
Due to the executive order, there is going to be an even larger insurgence of hate towards transgender individuals.
Millikin professor Michael Hartsock did not watch the inauguration, but he did hear the many alarming comments Trump made. But in the end, he isn’t surprised by any of these comments.
“It’s all [that] he said he was going to do,” Hartsock said. “So, part of me was just like, ‘Yeah, this is exactly what he said he was going to do, and so we should not at all be surprised that he did.’ But then I’ve also been as appalled and surprised when he first said it. It’s a little more jarring now that it’s got the power of the Office of the White House behind it.”
Half of America felt impending doom when Trump was declared president, but now that he is in office, it all feels more real. No more impending doom; it is just doom.
So what should the American people do? It isn’t the time to lay down and die, no. Hartsock has a simple, yet comforting solution to this.
“My recommendation would be to continue to live your life as you were, as if you were free because currently you still are,” Hartsock said. “I think people should pay attention, and they should be politically active when they can, but continue to live your lives, which is easier, I know, for some people to say, like myself, than others.”
It is also important to think of your LGBTQIA+ friends at this time, they are being attacked for something they cannot change about themselves.
So, although Trump’s actions are scary and reckless, you should continue to live and stay informed.
