Protect Trans People
The Trump administration, in its 2025 manifestation, is dead set on harming many. In this post I will focus on the harm they seek to do to trans people. I find it their goal unacceptable and repulsive, and urge other people of good will to join me in condemning and opposing it.
What is the administration trying to do? Within the first few weeks of his term, Trump signed a number of executive orders which have detrimental effects on trans people. An NPR article from 30 Jan details one such change, and mentions others. The focus of the article is on the holding facilities and protections of federal prisoners. Prison, jail, and other institutions of detention are already onerous and pernicious evils. Trump wants to make this situation worse. He has ordered federal facilities to cease housing trans folks with people who match their gender identity. So, for example, his order forbids holding trans women with other women; instead they will be held with men.
The article contextualizes this order, implying that it probably isn’t legal under the US Code. The Supreme Court affirmed the right for trans people to be held in federal facilities matching their gender identity after Dee Farmer brought and won a suit in the 1990s. Farmer reported several cases of abuse, and the Court found the practice at the time to meet the standard of a “cruel and unusual punishment.” The Trump order also forbids gender affirming care, which can address gender dysmorphia and other symptoms experienced by some trans people. One (I) can easily imagine this also meeting the criteria of “cruel and unusual punishment.”
My now-former colleague, Terra Field, has shared resources for those looking to learn more about trans people, their care needs, and the ongoing threat to these people. Please follow these links, learn more about this situation, and commit to helping trans people lead flourishing lives. They deserved to do so just like anyone else.
Where is this threat coming from? I already identified the Trump administration. This doesn’t stop there. The Trump administration has come to power with significant help from Christian Nationalists. The turn to religious fanatics isn’t new for American politics. According to historian Timothy Mitchell, the US predominately partners with states with strongly-conservative Islamic governments in the Middle East because those ideologies serve as justification for ruthlessly suppressing labor activities which might threaten US interests. For example, Saudi Arabia became a favored vassal because its founder, Ibn Saud, worked out a deal with the Ikhwan sect which allowed them to forcibly settle nomads and impose their interpretation of Islam on others within his territory. That military force allowed the Saudis to supply the US and private enterprises with oil; meanwhile, the US overlooks obvious human rights abuses and assassinations and supplies the Saudi state with military aid.
This partnership goes against the popular understanding of “Islamic fundamentalists” and liberal capitalism as being in conflict. This is often the framing pushed in the media and official US statements. It’s not the case in the Middle East, and it’s not the case in America.
The point here is that it’s not some anomaly that a conservative government came to power through an uneasy alliance with religious fanatics. It’s been done before, and it works to the benefit of global capitalism. I find understanding this history helpful because I can better consider relationships and patterns. Once I understand those then I’m in a better position to take effective action, like finding ways to undermine the power of those fanatics. For example, I could argue against their tax-exempt status as a way to put many of their churches out of business.
This is one potential tact to do more than provide immediate support for trans people. They need support during now, and more than just support. Again, I urge readers to join me in standing with them.