On Monday, Trump signed an executive order that made it a policy of the federal government to only recognize “two sexes, male and female,” which he defined as having begun “at conception”. In addition to reversing the ability of Americans to mark “other” or “X” on federal forms, the executive order could have huge implications in the way the federal government acknowledges gender.
Declaring that no federal funds would be used in what it calls ‘gender ideology’ or ‘gender wokeness’, the order further states that “each agency shall assess grant conditions and grantee preferences and ensure grant funds do not promote gender ideology.”
The LGBTQ media advocacy group GLAAD addresses the narrative insinuations of the order, asserting that “gender ideology is not a term transgender people use to describe themselves, it is an inaccurate term deployed by opponents to undermine and dehumanize transgender and nonbinary people.”
Many trans and nonbinary people in America, such as Max Kuzma and Zaya Perysian in an interview with the Guardian, worry that this redefinition of gender, which erases nonbinary and transgender identities, could lead to the removal of protections for transgender people under the Affordable Care Act, as well as result in a rollback of guidelines on transgender students’ rights and workplace protections.
Furthermore, Trump’s first-day actions, which involves scraping out LGBTQI-inclusive language from government websites and revoking Biden-era protections, risk undoing over a decade of progress on global LGBTIQ rights. These moves threaten U.S.-backed efforts to decriminalize same-sex relations and advance equality, while likely fueling greater marginalization, violence, and economic hardship for vulnerable communities worldwide.
With pullbacks to LGBTQ program funding in developing nations, the U.S. retreat from queer rights advocacy will not only stall progress done at the grassroots but could also embolden conservative governments especially in African countries where anti-LGBTQ laws remain rampant. Late last year, Namibia’s President Nangolo Mbumba, signed The Marriage Act 2024 which was passed by Parliament and published afterwards in the Government Gazette. Seen as an attempt to overturn the landmark May 2023 Supreme Court ruling, the Act explicitly limits the definition of marriage to “a legal union between two persons of the opposite sex,” further stating that it does not recognize “a marriage or marital union between persons of the same sex wherever concluded”.
Similarly, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu approved on December 3rd a revised version of the Harmonised Armed Forces Terms and Conditions of Service (HAFCTCS) 2024, which prohibits homosexuality and crossdressing in the military.
The United States has been known for its role in supporting critical advancements of policies that promote fairness and equitable values, as eagerly as it puts pressure on anti-LGBTQ countries that push for regressive policies. For example, in 2014, under the presidency of Barrack Obama, the US cut aid to Uganda while also withdrawing military co-orperation over harsh anti-gay laws. The initial law failed to pass on procedural grounds. Likewise, in 2023, when Uganda finally enacted into law one of the harshest anti-rights bills that included a death sentence for homosexuality, the US restricted Ugandan officials from travelling, promising that cuts and sanctions were soon to follow.
However, President Trump has shown no interest whatsoever in advancing progressive achievements in foreign affairs. He recently announced his decision to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization (WHO), a move that could severely curtail the reach of WHO in continuing its life-saving work, especially as regards health emergencies in poorer, more disadvantaged countries.
Trump, whose political campaign spent nearly $215 million in anti-trans ads last year, sets precedence for the encouragement of vitriols and lies by accusing trans people of trying to “deny the biological reality of sex”. It is worth noting that his definition of sex has no basis in scientific fact. Not only does “two sexes” fail to acknowledge the existence of intersex people, the definition of “male, at conception” is deeply flawed, as sexual differentiation via reproductive cells does not take place until about six weeks after conception.
Trump’s smear campaigns, which he seems to take pleasure in, contributes to a culture of bigotry that seeks to normalize hate. Earlier this year, Mark Zuckerberg announced a reversal of Meta’s hate speech policy which protected gender identity. This reversal signals a dangerous capitulation. For queer activists across Africa, where online spaces are lifelines amidst criminalization, this creates a chilling effect, amplifying vulnerability and silencing vital activism.
Nonetheless, hope glimmers. Ghana’s rejection of an anti-LGBTQ+ bill points to a pushback against global intolerance. The American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBT and HIV Project have vowed to fight the Trump administration’s changes however they can. It’s a reminder that even as Trump-era policies embolden bigotry, local resistance can preserve progress and inspire resilience in the fight for equality.
— Godswill Arinze Agubalu and Fred Okafor