Dismay and concern over changes to transgender rights impacts incarcerated persons’ mental state
Hours after taking the oath of office, newly-elected President Trump signed an executive order declaring the that the United States government will only recognize two biological sexes, according to the L.A. Times.
The executive order states that males and females are defined by reproductive cells and at the point of conception, which has also caught the attention of some pro-choice advocates.
The gender definitions in the order also extend to federally issued identification such as passports and visas. Federal agencies have also been directed not to house persons identifying as men in women’s correctional facilities or detention centers. Funding for gender reassignment surgery will also cease to exist under the Trump’s orders, according to the L.A. Times.
San Quentin resident Aaron Zendejas, 40, who identifies as a transgender woman, said that she is deeply dismayed by the messaging coming from the Oval Office.
She said that even though Trump was elected by the people, one must still consider the source; emphasizing that the president is a convicted felon and admitted womanizer.
“It’s been a struggle during my 16 years of incarceration,” Zendejas said. “I came out as transgender in 2012 and I’ve endured harassment and bullying. Now the exact same bullying is coming from the leader of the free world.”
Zendejas feels sympathy for the president, stating that because of his advanced age, it may be difficult for him to change his inherent prejudices. She feels that Trump does not understand the courage it takes to “come out” as transgender in American society.
Kellan Baker, director of the Institute for Health Research and Policy at Whitman-Walker, an organization focused on LGBTQ+ health equality, noted that the order did not make any distinction centered on whether someone sought medical transition or altered their identity papers, stated the article.
“It [the executive order] seems to be trying to waive a federal policy wand and make transgender people disappear, which is an impossibility,” Baker said.
Trump says that his administration rejects liberal “gender ideology” and he says he plans to restore “biological truth” and “biological reality” to America, according to the Times.
“In practice, what this order means is that the administration is not only denying transgender have rights, but that they exist,” said David Cole legal director for the ACLU. “There are about 1.5 million people in the United States who are transgender, and that reality cannot be denied with an executive order.”
The Supreme Court has not ruled on whether government discrimination against transgender people is unconstitutional, choosing to defer the issue to the States.
However in 2020, Cole won a 6-3 ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court that forbids job discrimination against employees based on their sexual orientation or gender identification.
The Federal Civil Rights Act prevents employers from discriminating based on sex or race; the Court opined that discrimination against LGBTQ+ employees was considered discrimination based on sex. The Court’s conservative majority signaled it is likely to uphold laws in Republican-led states that limit the rights of transgender adolescents, according to the L.A. Times.
SQ resident Anthony Tafoya, 35, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, expressed his concern for adolescent transitioning teenagers witnessing the signals coming from the Administration of President Trump.
“I would tell any transitioning young person to keep going because it’s only four years and once people wake up, the next President will protect them,” Tafoya said. “Next election those alienated youth will be old enough to vote and make their voice and vote be heard loud and clear.”
