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Summary
Following the United States Executive order to cease the recognition of gender identity over sex binarism, this article explains what the policy entails and its implications for women’s rights.
For several years, gender ideology has gradually crept into society. The self-identifying concept is linked to American psychologist and sexologist John Money, who proposed that a child’s expression of gender depends on how they are raised. He suggested that if a child is raised as the opposite sex, then they would behave accordingly. In 1995, he coined the term “gender role” and argued that gender is a social construct. He further led the way for gender reassignment surgery and frequently argued in favour of gender identity.
While several people initially identified as the opposite sex but only engaged in cross-dressing, in the 2000s, trans people began to claim that they were the same as the opposite sex they identified with. Terms like “Transwomen are women” became mainstream, and policies favouring gender identity over the binary of sex began to spring up. The Olympics began to allow males to participate in women’s sport events, news platforms began to use female pronouns to describe male predators, males were allowed in women’s single-sex spaces in the UK and the US, and schoolchildren were even allowed to change their gender without parental consent in Scotland. This notion extended to Nigeria, with popular crossdresser Idris Okuneye being awarded Best Dressed Female during a movie premiere.
When the 2024 US Presidential election was held, gender ideology became one of the defining factors for voting. Donald Trump gained over 72 million votes, with 50.9% of votes going to him, while Kamala Harris had 47.6%, which amounted to about 67 million votes. Many people expressed that they voted for Trump partly because he promised to end gender ideology.
In fulfilment of his campaign promise, when Trump was sworn in as president of the United States on January 20, 2024, he rolled out 20 executive orders, one of which affirms that the US only recognises two sex/genders– male and female. The document titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” contained several policies.
Highlights of Trump’s Executive Order on Gender Ideology
- Reinforcement of the definition of biological terms
Previously, the terms for gender identification were modified to accommodate gender ideology. Dictionaries such as Cambridge had adopted gender identity definitions of biological terms, such as describing a woman as “an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth.” Further news reports, medical documents, and several official communications also began using “gender-inclusive” terms that obscured biological reality but favoured transgender individuals. Words like uterus-havers and non-men were used to describe women.
However, the new US presidential order overturned this practice, directing that women must be defined according to objective reality. The policy specifies that women denotes adult human females and men are adult human males. Consequently, girls are young human females, and boys are young human males.
- Erasure of gender identity as a compulsory field in documents
Academic institutions, job sites, fellowships, and other organisations typically require applicants to select gender identity while filling out documents. The category, often marked as a compulsory field, prompted applicants to indicate whether they are cisgender, transgender, agender, or bigender, amongst other gender identities. Following the US Executive order, the practice has become outlawed.
- No acceptance of males in women’s single-sex spaces
A central part of gender ideology involved males’ unfiltered access to women’s spaces as long as they identify as one. As such, males were allowed to access women’s bathrooms, women’s sports, women’s shelters, and girls’ locker rooms. However, the new executive order mandates the US Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that males are not detained in women’s prisons, domestic shelters or any other single-sexed spaces.
3. End of legal document recognising males as women
Similar to the order given to Homeland Security, the executive order mandates that the U.S. Secretaries of State and Homeland Security and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to ensure that government-issued identities, including passports, reflect the correct sex of an individual. Previously, government documents were issued based on self-identification, giving legal backing to transgender individuals to claim to be the opposite sex.
- Eradication of all loopholes and promotional tactics of gender ideology
In addition to all the orders, the US further enforces that all government funding must not directly or indirectly sponsor the promotion of gender ideology. It also states that people must be able to freely express the binary nature of sex without fear of reprisal. It further affirms that within 30 days of the order, all relevant agencies must implement it and enact it into law.
The Policy’s Implication on Women’s Rights
The United States is renowned for its world power and influence on other countries. Policies enacted in the US often spread into various parts of the world. The enactment of a new policy invariably has several positive implications for women’s rights and feminism.
- Mitigation of in-fighting amongst feminist groups
Since 2020, there has been an intensified argument, especially amongst feminists, due to gender ideology. Several women’s rights movements have broken into groups, such as “intersectional” feminists claiming they advocate for males because they “identify as women,” while “radical” feminists affirm that they advocate only for female people. Similarly, groups within the gay rights movement have split with organisations such as “LGB” separating from “LGBTQ+” With the new policy highlighting that the US should officially demarket gender ideology initiatives, there is a renewed hope of unity amongst the feminist movement.
- The restoration of free speech amongst radical feminists
Due to many gender-critical and radical feminist debates about gender ideology, many have faced backlash on social media and even in their professional and personal lives. Many feminists, such as Chimamanda Adichie, were called slurs such as “TERFs.” Some lost their social media accounts permanently due to policies tagging arguments with transgender individuals’ perception of self as “hate speech,” while others lost their jobs. However, with the new policy, free speech to advocate for women’s rights can be restored, especially on social media platforms.
- An opportunity to reaffirm feminism as a women-only movement
The foundation of feminism hinges on sex binary recognition, which includes women gaining liberation from the oppression of their male counterparts. The proliferation of gender identity obscures this fact, as men could self-identify as women, hence endangering the foundation and application of the movement in principle. However, the US executive order reaffirms the basis of feminism by highlighting that sex must be recognised as binary and women as a separate sex class from men.
Gender Experts Opine that Policy is a Step in the Right Direction
A diverse reaction has followed the implementation of the new executive order, with trans activists claiming it is “unfair.” However, gender experts have asserted that the policy will protect women from cheaters and advance women’s rights.
Women’s rights advocate Unyime Prudence Ben-Thomas said, “This would prevent males from competing with women in sports under the guise of inclusion.” Feminist and NFM’s creative lead Fredrica Dibie also shared that policy will help women’s rights activists reclaim clarity and strength in feminist agender, ensuring that the struggles of women are not overshadowed or sidelined.
Similarly, feminist and psychology student Oluwafunmbi Ogunsola said the new order allows feminists to focus on other pressing issues beyond the debates surrounding gender ideology.
“With the definition settled, our energy can now shift to addressing pressing issues like pay equity, reproductive rights, and violence against women, rather than being caught up in debates over gender identity.” She added that the policy is “a crucial step in defending women’s rights, ensuring that spaces, resources, and opportunities meant for women are protected based on biological realities.”
