The attack on transgender people took a dark turn yesterday.
In the first 10 weeks of the Trump presidency I saw their attacks against transgender people as a continuation of the distraction and scapegoating from the election cycle. But yesterday, their actions took a dark turn.
First, after cutting hundreds of millions of dollars of funding for LBGTQIA+ health, the National Institute of Health was instructed to conduct research on “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children and adults.
Second was an executive order on child abuse. Child abuse is an epidemic in this country and worthy of national attention. But the focus of the child abuse executive order is not on root causes of addiction or mental health, lack of parenting skills or economic stress, the executive order blames child abuse on people like me.
After lifting up the virtue of a “strong mother and father”—denying the value of many family structures, the executive order goes on to blame child abuse on the evils of “hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and sexual mutilation surgery. The evil and backwards lies of gender insanity are robbing our children of their happiness, health, and freedom, while imposing unimaginable heartbreak on parents and families. As I stated during my Joint Address to the Congress last month, my message to every American child is simple: you are perfect exactly the way God made you.”
First, President Trump, I was not perfect the way I was born. I was born with horrible eyesight, extra sets of teeth, scoliosis, and more.
Second, God created me, queerfully and wonderfully transgender. God gifted me with a gender and orientation that exceeds your binary understanding.
These action show the direction of the administration—not only using gender diverse people as a means to create fear and whip up their base, but as a targeted group to be attacked and eradicated.
