On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed his latest trans-bashing executive order titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports," barring transgender women and girls from competing in female sports. His administration claims the order aligns with Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs and extends federal oversight into private sector policies.
This latest action is part of a political dog-whistle campaign targeting transgender rights. While opportunist conservatives frame trans participation in sports as an urgent issue, transgender athletes make up less than half of 1 percent of high school competitors. At the college level, only about 30 openly trans athletes compete nationwide. In the interest of fearmongering for political gain, misinformation has been spread by conservative religious groups searching for a new "wedge issue" after marriage equality became law.
The truth? There is little evidence to support claims that transgender athletes have a biological advantage. A 2017 review in Sports Medicine found "no direct or consistent research" proving such claims. Many states and athletic organizations have already developed fair and inclusive policies without issue, but Trump's order isn't about fairness. It's about control.
Trump's administration is waging a systematic attack on trans-Americans, aiming to roll back their rights at every level. On his first day back in office, he signed an executive order titled "Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government." This order instructs federal agencies to recognize only two unchangeable sexes determined at conception. It mandates that imprisoned trans women be housed in men's prisons, eliminates gender marker changes on passports and federal IDs, and bans the use of "X" as a gender marker.
Days later, another order blocked federal funding for health care providers that offer gender-affirming care to transgender people under the age of 19. The affected treatments include puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgery, even though such surgeries for minors are rare.
The administration also targeted trans youth in schools. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was ordered to strip its guidance for transgender and nonbinary students from its website. The Department of Education is now tasked with drafting policies to prohibit schools from using federal funds to support students who socially transition or to include curricula that recognize gender as fluid. The crescendo of his disgust may be Trump's order to ban trans-Americans from military service, showing a direct opinion that one America's blood and sacrifice is different and devalued from another.
Unfortunately, this news isn't new. Over the past year, Republican lawmakers have launched an aggressive effort to legislate transgender people out of public life. Across the country, GOP-led states have enacted book bans that force schools and libraries to remove any material that acknowledges LGBTQ+ people. Bathroom bans have been paired with laws allowing private citizens to sue transgender people simply for using restrooms. Religious refusal laws now permit medical providers to deny care to LGBTQ+ individuals. Many states have banned gender-affirming care outright, replacing medical expertise with government-imposed restrictions. Some states have even threatened to investigate parents of trans children for abuse, raising the possibility that trans youth could be forcibly removed from their homes.
These policies are not about protecting women's sports, children, or fairness. They are about enforcing a rigid, religiously motivated view of gender that ignores both science and the lived experiences of trans people. The goal is clear: to make life as difficult as possible for transgender and nonbinary Americans.
For the more than 1.5 million transgender people in the United States, these laws and executive orders have real consequences. Trans youth already face higher rates of bullying, family rejection, and suicide risk. Research has consistently shown that gender-affirming care and inclusive environments dramatically improve their well-being. Instead of addressing these realities, Trump and his allies have chosen cruelty. Their message is unmistakable: trans people do not deserve dignity or respect.
Despite this crusade, transgender Americans are not going away. They will continue to live their lives, advocate for their rights, and fight for recognition. The real question is whether the rest of us will stand with them. Students, educators, medical professionals, lawmakers, and allies all have a role to play in resisting these attacks. This is not just about trans people. It is about whether we, as a country, will allow politicians to strip away fundamental rights from an entire group of people simply because they do not conform to a conservative, religious worldview.
Kevin Bolling is the executive director of the Secular Student Alliance. He has served in that position since 2017.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
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