Apple has joined Amazon, Facebook, Google, and more than 50 other companies in a letter against Trump’s proposed changes to the legal definition of gender. The 56 companies represent a number of industries, from tech to banking, airlines, ice cream, and more. Together, they’ve signed an open letter with the support of LGBTQ groups across the nation. These companies are taking a stand against the Trump administration’s proposed attacks on transgender people.
What exactly is happening and why are people so scared? Trump has proposed stripping all federal protections and basic human rights from transgender people. The 80% of Fortune 500 companies who support their trans employees have something to say about that.
Trump Administration’s Memo
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The New York Times revealed existence of a memo originating from Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services. The memo suggest the federal government should reinterpret existing laws to cut transgender people out of civil rights protections. Federal civil rights laws cover protected classes. For example, some states have laws that say a person cannot be fired for their gender. This means that transgender people cannot be fired for being trans. The federal government has such a law for government contractors, but the Trump administration refuses to enforce it. These are the same laws that protect people from losing their jobs over their race or religion. Trump wants to take these rights away from transgender people officially.
The Department of Health and Human services takes it a step further though. Not only do they want to strip rights from transgender people, they state that gender can only be determined at birth upon observance of the baby’s genitals. They claim to want to make this determination “on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable.” It makes the claim that this gender is immutable from birth. It means transgender people who have transitioned would no longer legally be their gender. The government would instead force them into a role based on the appearance of their genitals at birth, regardless if they’ve since updated their birth certificate or obtained any surgeries or other medical care. Trump wants to target trans people in a way that would likely lead to an increase in transgender poverty, discrimination, and deaths.
‘Science Based?’
Photo: Sai Mokhtari/Gothamist
To anyone in the scientific community, this is, obviously, not “science based.” Modern medicine recognizes that gender and gender expression are not binary things. They also have discovered and proved that gender does not always correlate to genitalia. There are biological differences between the sexes that are observed in transgender people. For example, a transgender woman’s brain resembles a cisgender woman’s brain. Cisgender, if you were unaware, is the word used to describe someone whose gender does match the appearance of their genitalia when they were born.
Furthermore, intersex people exist. People are frequently born with unclear genitals. They are sometimes given surgery to “correct” this before they have a chance to grow up and make the decision for themselves. As a result, it’s like the flip of a coin. Many intersex people disagree with the choice that was made without their permission, and were forced to live life as a gender that does not match who they actually are.
Photo: Carly Henry/The Republic
There are also a number of hormonal and chromosomal disorders that do not fit into an “XX” or “XY” binary enumeration. Basically put, real humans are far more complex than the information you learned in 5th grade health class. Real humans are unique, wonderful things. They live on a spectrum. Gender, sexuality, femininity, masculinity, height, weight, health, it’s all a spectrum. No two people are alike, and, as a result, human traits aren’t binary, gender included. This is something many cultures around the world have known for over a thousand years. Transgender people and non-binary gender designations have existed in cultures all around the world for as long as humanity has.
“This proposal is fundamentally inconsistent not only with science, but also with ethical practices, human rights, and basic dignity.”
– From a letter signed by 1,642 scientists
1,642 scientists (as of this writing) have signed a letter refuting Trump’s claims. The idea that gender is binary is not based in science. Belief in the idea that one’s gender is determined by their genitals does not make that belief a fact. In fact, all science points to the contrary. People know their own gender, even when it differs from their bodies.
“The proposal is in no way “grounded in science” as the administration claims. The relationship between sex chromosomes, genitalia, and gender identity is complex, and not fully understood. There are no genetic tests that can unambiguously determine gender, or even sex. Furthermore, even if such tests existed, it would be unconscionable to use the pretext of science to enact policies that overrule the lived experience of people’s own gender identities.”
– From a letter signed by 1,642 scientists, emphasis added
That’s not theory, those are facts. The U.S. government, aware of the growth in medical and scientific understanding of gender, is putting prejudice and bigotry before facts.
Rebuttal from Companies
“In the last two decades, dozens of federal courts have affirmed the rights and identities of transgender people. Cognizant of growing medical and scientific consensus, courts have recognized that policies that force people into a binary gender definition determined by birth anatomy fail to reflect the complex realities of gender identity and human biology.”
– From the open letter to Trump
80% of the Fortune 500 companies have protections in place for their transgender employees. That’s a massive slice of the United States GDP standing behind transgender rights. 56 U.S. companies, representing $2.4 trillion in collective revenue, from a wide variety of industries, came together to sign a letter imploring the Trump administration to listen to science, reason, logic, and compassion.
“Transgender people are our beloved family members and friends, and our valued team members. What harms transgender people harms our companies.”
– From the open letter to Trump
When the NY Times leaked the Trump administration’s plans activists across the nation responded quickly. They made a simple statement: that they #WontBeErased. Now they’re joined by the largest and most profitable companies in the United States, affirming the same thing: transgender rights are human rights. The villainy of this administration will not change that.
What You Can Do
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Tuesday, November 6th is election day. There is one clear way to tie the president’s hands: vote for the only party willing to stand up to him. Attacks on LGBTQ people exclusively come from the social-right, the United States’ conservative party, the Republican Party. Voting for anyone but a Republican, especially Democrats, is the most effective way to protect LGBTQ rights. You’ll also protect women’s rights, religious freedoms, and civil rights for everyone.
You can also make donations to the ACLU, Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, and many more. You can volunteer time to make phone calls, or, in the case of charitable organizations like the Trevor Project, a suicide hotline focusing on LGBTQ needs, take phone calls. You can donate to Democratic politicians, write blog posts, or even just tweet. But no matter what you decide to do, make sure you do at least one thing: vote.
We have one shot to save this country. No amount of money or company support will change anything if people don’t vote. Vote.
Sources/Further Reading:
- Businesses for Trans Equality
- Laura Feiner, CNBC
- Erica L. Green, Katie Benner, and Robert Pear, The New York Times
- Not Binary
- Stephen Peters, The Human Rights Campaign