On his first day in office on Monday, President Trump is expected to issue an executive order specifying that a person’s sex will be defined as either “male” or “female,” directing government agencies to use this fixed classification on forms and identification documents. The order will also call for revisions to federal prison policies affecting transgender inmates.
The order is anticipated to have profound implications on gender identity politics in the United States, taking into consideration a person’s biological gender and not “self-assessed gender identity”.
“What we are doing today is establishing that the United States policy recognizes only two sexes: male and female. These sexes are unchangeable and based on fundamental, undeniable reality,” an incoming White House official explained to reporters.
The policies are part of an executive order, one of many that the 78-year-old Trump is anticipated to sign soon after his inauguration around noon.
The order will prohibit individuals from altering the sex designation on U.S. passports, which currently offer options for male, female, or “X,” and will seek to block access to medical transition treatments for inmates. Both measures are expected to face legal challenges.
The order directs the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies “to ensure that official government documents, such as passports and visas, accurately reflect a person’s sex,” according to the incoming official.
