I can’t help but feel that every time I get news alerts on my phone, I’ll be flooded with anxiety. With Donald Trump as our president, I don’t think anyone can doubt that our communities have seen a tremendous amount of anxiety over what will happen to this country and individual communities. Don’t get me wrong-- I hope with all my heart that things will get better. That we will look back on this presidency and not be filled with regret, anxiety, or disbelief, but, based off of the material we have had thus far, I am not very optimistic.
This week on February 23, the Trump administration decided to withdraw the Obama administration's interpretation of Title IX, which extends the protection of discrimination within public schools to include protection concerning gender identity. Basically, Title IX, passed in 1972, is a federal law that prohibits discrimination in public schools towards any student. The Obama administration extended the interpretation of this law to include the protection of students of all gender identities. This was directly aimed at protecting transgender students and their right to use the bathroom that matched their gender identity.
Obviously, President Trump’s withdrawal of this protection sparked a ton of controversy for various reasons. For one, Trump had promised to protect LGBTQ rights during his presidential campaign. Maybe it’s normal for presidents to break some of the promises they make, but, wasn’t a huge part of Trump’s allure as a presidential candidate, that he said things how they actually were without all the political jargon and bluster?
I’m not the only one who thinks this-- Caitlyn Jenner shared her reaction to Trump’s political decision in a video on Twitter saying:
“This is a disaster. You made a promise to protect the LGBTQ community. Call me.”
Now, considering Caitlyn Jenner was a known supporter of Donald Trump throughout his presidential campaign, it’s clear that he’s not proving himself reliable with the promises that he has made. A big part of the controversy behind this decision is that it leaves the trans community feeling even more at risk. When the government is the very institution causing anxiety in a community, (I’m not even talking about the other communities who have felt threatened throughout his presidential campaign and actual presidency) it leaves vast amounts of people feeling vulnerable.
This leads me to my other concern. Not only is this in opposition to Trump’s promises to protect the LGBTQ community, it also seems to be more than anything, a kick to the transgender community. I think this is because, although Trump withdrew the interpretation from the Obama administration for Title IX to extend to gender identity, he cannot change federal law. So, as the executive director, Kris Hayashi from the Transgender Law Center said, “…school districts across the country are still legally obligated to comply with Title IX and protect transgender students.”
Title IX still bans discrimination to students and technically still protects transgender students. Stripping the explicit federal protection issued by the Obama administration, therefore, seems to be, more than anything, an example of the inhumanity present in our current presidential administration. These students face a sufficient amount of discrimination in present society; does our government really need to add on to this? Honestly, it feels like a political step backward toward social progress.
What lightens the load in my heart, however, is the knowledge that unlike years ago, there are institutions dedicated to protecting not only the trans community but other communities as well. The Transgender Law Center, for example, has a helpline form for any student who believes their school is treating them differently on their website.
Despite this kind of action from our current presidential administration, I am hopeful that people within our communities will stand together in solidarity against oppression, of every kind, and that despite the attitudes of our federal government, will be able to discern what is right and wrong.
