Trans rights are human rights. Full stop. The Department of Health and Human Services aims to narrow the federal government’s definition of “sex” under Title IX—make no mistake, this is a horrifying step to legislatively dehumanize trans, nonbinary, genderqueer people. “The agency’s proposed definition would define sex as either male or female, unchangeable, and determined by the genitals that a person is born with,” according to the New York Times. “Any dispute about one’s sex would have to be clarified using genetic testing.”
This is not only blatantly discriminatory, but flies in the face of sound science showing that the reality of sex and gender is never black and white. Genitalia are not identity. Chromosomes are not destiny.
Gender identity is an inherent feature of who someone is, and should be a protected class from discrimination anywhere and everywhere.
Transgender, non-binary, and genderqueer folx have existed since the dawn of time, just like cis people.
Rights are not a zero-sum game. A trans person using the bathroom that matches their identity does not mean a cis person has been stripped of rights. A trans person being safe does not make a cis person less safe. A trans person being treated like a person does not dehumanize a cis person.
This proposal reeks of the Religious Right. We must not forget that they are ultimately in service to the capitalist agenda. Together capitalists and the Religious Right will trample on anyone they deem a danger to their power.
If trans and genderqueer people can no longer expect even a perfunctory modicum of dignified treatment and safety under the law, neither should their oppressors. Civility is a myth the ruling class uses to keep us docile while they violently slash rights and hoard resources. Make them as ashamed as they are trying to make trans people feel. Let them know, loud and clear, they are not welcome.
Ally is a verb. In continuing solidarity with trans people in the United States, we uncompromisingly demand their equal rights under the law. But if the state won’t protect trans people, we will.