On January 20, 2025, immediately following his inauguration as the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” This order mandates that all federal agencies recognize only two sexes—male and female—as determined at birth, effectively eliminating federal recognition of transgender and non-binary identities. The order states: “Sex refers to the immutable biological classification of male or female as determined at conception.
The executive order directs federal agencies to replace the term “gender” with “sex” in official documents and policies, cease funding for gender-affirming care, and prohibit the promotion of what it terms “gender ideology.” It also rescinds previous policies that allowed individuals to self-identify their gender on federal documents such as passports and mandates that federal facilities, including prisons and shelters, assign individuals to sex-segregated spaces based on their biological sex assigned at birth.
In addition to this order, President Trump signed another executive order on January 28, 2025, aimed at prohibiting federal support for gender transitions for individuals under 19 years old. This order directs federal insurance programs, including Medicaid and TRICARE, to exclude coverage for gender-affirming care for minors and encourages legal action against healthcare providers offering such services.
Transgender rights in the U.S. have evolved significantly over time, shaped by different presidential administrations. The Obama administration (2009–2017) implemented policies recognizing gender identity in federal laws, issued guidance allowing transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity, and removed the ban on transgender individuals serving openly in the military.
The Biden administration (2021–2025) introduced transgender military service rights, strengthened Title IX protections for transgender students, and expanded rights for transgender inmates, allowing them to be housed based on their gender identity. Additionally, gender-affirming care had been included in various federal health programs. Under Biden’s policies, transgender students could participate in sports teams aligning with their gender identity, though several states had passed laws restricting transgender athletes in female sports.
In U.S. prisons, policies allowed transgender inmates to request housing based on their gender identity. One significant legal case involved a federal judge ruling in favor of a transgender inmate’s right to receive gender-affirming surgery while incarcerated.
The LGBTQ+ movement, particularly the Pride movement, has gained significant visibility, with major corporations, media outlets, and politicians expressing support. What once started as small-scale protests has now grown into large global celebrations. June was officially designated as Pride Month in the U.S., with corporations, government institutions, and celebrities promoting LGBTQ+ inclusivity.
Over the past few decades, the conversation around gender identity, transgender rights, and medical gender transition has gained significant traction. What was once a fringe discussion has now become a mainstream topic, driven by advocacy organizations, media coverage, medical advancements, and policy shifts. The concept of individuals experiencing gender dysphoria—where a person feels they were born in the wrong body—has been widely discussed, debated, and, in many cases, legally recognized across the world.
The transgender movement had received significant support from various advocacy groups, including organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), GLAAD, and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE). These groups have played a major role in lobbying for legal protections, healthcare access, and social acceptance of transgender individuals. The media, too, has contributed by producing stories, documentaries, and movies portraying the struggles of transgender people, bringing their experiences into the public consciousness.
Pharmaceutical companies and medical institutions have also entered the conversation, offering hormone therapy and surgical procedures to help individuals transition to their perceived gender identity. The gender-affirming care industry, which includes hormone replacement therapy (HRT), puberty blockers, and sex reassignment surgeries, has grown into a multi-billion-dollar sector. Studies show that the cost of gender transition treatments can range from $10,000 to over $100,000, depending on the procedures involved.
President Trump, with his trademark unpredictable policies and thinking pattern, with one stroke of a pen, has reversed two decades of advocacy and transgender policies and sex transformation technologies back to zero. After his executive order, many sex change clinics will be closed, many drug manufacturing companies and surgical procedures that were minting money will go bankrupt, the federal government will trash tons of stationery to change the word sex to gender in their forms and formulations, and the schools, hospitals, and jails will have to close down transgender facilities.
What Trump did reflected his conservative ideology and deeply religious inclinations. While modern science, psychology, and behavioral sciences recognize transgender identity as a legitimate phenomenon, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam traditionally acknowledge only two sexes—male and female—as divinely ordained. Islamic teachings generally reject gender transition, considering gender immutable. Christianity upholds the binary concept of gender, citing Genesis 1:27, with conservative denominations rejecting transgender identity. Judaism, particularly in Orthodox traditions, also adheres to the binary gender framework.
Though President Trump’s executive order has officially denied the existence of any gender beyond male and female and has halted federal funding for gender-affirming treatments, the notion of transgender identity is unlikely to disappear anytime soon. Hormone treatments and surgical procedures may move underground, while other countries could become destinations for gender transition surgeries. Advocacy groups are expected to launch protracted legal battles, and Congress and the Senate will likely engage in serious debates on the issue. Human rights organizations may condemn the order as a violation of fundamental rights, arguing that individuals should have the freedom to make decisions regarding their bodies and gender identity. Some critics may accuse the president of turning the U.S. into a theocracy, while religious institutions may support his stance. While the executive order will undoubtedly impact the transgender movement, how society—particularly the transgender community and the rest of the world—reacts to it, is yet to be seen.
Mr. Qamar Bashir is Press Secretary to the President (Rtd), Former Press Minister at Embassy of Pakistan to France and Former MD, SRBC. He is living in Macomb, Detroit, Michigan
