Self-expression shouldn’t be dictated by anyone and especially not by a signed executive order.

President Donald Trump declared an executive order on immutable sex, but that doesn’t mean nonbinary and transgender Americans will just disappear.

The order, named “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to The Federal Government,” came in addition to federal anti-DEI legislation and restrictions for transgender adolescents. 

“It will henceforth be the official policy of the U.S. government that there are only two genders, male and female,” Trump said on Jan. 20 in his inauguration speech.

This order federally institutes the idea of immutable sex, which is the belief one’s sex is biological and unchangeable. 

Regardless of one’s expression of gender, Trump’s policy declares Americans will only be recognized by the government as the sex they were biologically assigned at birth.

As a result, it will further perpetuate stigmas around the gender discussion and regress the way that gender is taught. 

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“I read the recent executive order as a nostalgic wish for a 1950s notion of family and social order,” said S.L. Crawley, a professor in the USF Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences.

Of all the issues Trump could have chosen to address, he decided to further divide our country by attempting to erase nonbinary and transgender Americans. The result could ultimately be detrimental to the wellbeing of the LGBTQ+ community. 

The Trevor Project is a nonprofit organization that aims to put an end to suicides in the LGBTQ+ community.

The Trevor Project’s study found that 41% of young LGBTQ+ Americans surveyed considered suicide in the past year. It was also reported 27% of young transgender and nonbinary Americans surveyed have been physically harmed or threatened because of how they identify, according to the 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People.

Essentially, Trump is kicking a community that is already down. 

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“That the LGBTQ+ community will be impacted in grand ways is an underrepresentation of the reality of this executive order,” said Lori Hall, an assistant professor in criminology who specializes in transformative justice.

This order opens the door for transphobia, an issue already ingrained in American society. It is extremely invalidating of transgender and nonbinary Americans who have historically struggled for inclusion and visibility.

“We can expect to see significant increases in mental health challenges, victimization, financial instability and high rates of interpersonal violence,” Hall said.

It’s also just inaccurate to say that there are only two true sexes: male and female.

Biology tells us that almost 2% of the population is born with naturally occurring conditions that make it difficult for people to classify as male or female, Crawley said.

Not only does Trump’s policy go against the scientific understanding of gender, it also negates what the humanities have been teaching students for years.

Anyone who has taken a class in gender studies knows the terms sex and gender are not interchangeable. Trump and his fanbase apparently didn’t get the memo.

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“Gender refers to one’s sense of being masculine or feminine, while sex has tended to reference the body,” Crawley said. “But ‘sex’ is also a social designation—a medical designation, not a biological binary.”

The idea of a gender binary is constraining as it coerces people to identify themselves, making it seem as simple as checking a box, Crawley said.

Regardless of the federal suppression on gender, USF has many resources and student organizations to support the LGBTQ+ community.

“At USF, we are home to many outstanding student-registered organizations—such as Trans+ Student Union—that foster inclusive spaces for affirming USF students’ sex, gender and sexual identities through community-building and support” said Nik Lampe, assistant professor in the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy.

Lampe is also a faculty adviser for the Trans+ Student Union.

Lampe said any student at USF is welcome to join these student-led organizations, regardless of if they identify as a member or an ally of LGBTQ+ community.

Whether it’s codified by federal law or not, Trump cannot change the way that nonbinary and transgender people feel about their identities. 

Trump wants to “make America great again,” but I don’t see this happening anytime soon under such a divisive policy.