The political pendulum has swung back towards a more traditional stance on gender identity within the federal government. Newly reinstated President Trump has initiated a series of executive orders aimed at dismantling Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) programs and reasserting a binary view of sex and gender. These directives have prompted a cascade of memos throughout various federal agencies, instructing employees to remove gender pronouns from their email signatures, official documents, and grant applications. This abrupt shift marks a stark reversal of the policies championed by the previous Biden administration, which actively promoted inclusivity and recognition of diverse gender identities.
The memos circulating within agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Energy underscore the administration’s commitment to enforcing these new guidelines. Employees have been given strict deadlines to comply, signaling the seriousness with which the administration views this policy change. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has further reinforced this directive by instructing agencies to disable features in email systems, such as Microsoft Outlook, that prompt users to include their pronouns. This move aims to standardize communication and eliminate any vestiges of the previous administration’s emphasis on gender identity expression in official correspondence.
President Trump’s executive orders, issued on his first day back in office, explicitly target what he terms “radical and wasteful government DEI programs.” The orders call for a thorough review and termination of DEIA initiatives across various government bodies, including the OPM, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Department of Justice. These actions are framed as a necessary step to eliminate “illegal” DEIA mandates and restore a focus on “biological truth” within the federal government. This “biological truth,” as defined by the executive order, recognizes only two sexes – male and female – as immutable and unchangeable. The administration asserts that this binary view aligns with fundamental reality and serves as the foundation for its policy decisions.
The implications of these executive orders extend beyond internal government communications. They mandate the removal of any statements, policies, or regulations that promote what the administration refers to as “gender ideology.” This includes any language or practices that acknowledge or affirm gender identities beyond the male-female binary. Government forms are now required to list only male or female as options for sex, explicitly excluding any accommodation for gender identity. This shift reflects a broader effort to erase transgender and non-binary identities from official government discourse and processes. The recent decision by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to eliminate the “X” gender marker option on US passport applications further exemplifies this approach.
This sudden policy reversal stands in stark contrast to the previous administration’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights. Upon taking office in 2021, President Biden issued an executive order prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. This order was defended by then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki as an affirmation of trans rights as human rights. The Biden administration also actively engaged with transgender influencers and advocates, promoting policies that supported gender-affirming care. This approach garnered both support and criticism, with detractors raising concerns about the potential risks of such care, particularly for minors.
Vice President Kamala Harris, during the Biden administration, further signaled the administration’s commitment to inclusivity by publicly using her pronouns and advocating for transgender rights. However, this stance became a point of contention during the recent presidential campaign, with opponents criticizing Harris’s support for policies such as taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners. The political climate has clearly shifted, and the current administration’s actions reflect a significant departure from the previous focus on inclusivity and recognition of diverse gender identities. The removal of pronouns from the social media profiles of prominent Democrats like Pete Buttigieg and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggests an awareness of this changing political landscape and a strategic adaptation to the new reality.
