Government Cuts Funding from Gender Affirming Programs

In the most recent attempt to enforce President Trump’s anti-queer sentiments, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has directed all government agencies to “end federal funding of gender ideology,” in what many could consider a tragic collapse of expressive freedom and an extreme forwarding of the conservative agenda to criminalize queer identity.

This links back back to the executive orders pushed through on January 13. These orders by and large seek to erase transgender identities from the workplace, justice system, and legal system in the United States of America through the undoing of legislature hard-won over decades of advocacy. Unfortunately, this is not new. These actions are upheld from plans laid years in advance aimed towards uniting America’s conservative faction against a vulnerable population. On one hand, we can admire the commitment to delivering on promises. It’s very constructive for Trump’s ethos in the conservative party. On the other … Man, things are really not looking good for the future of transgender individuals in the United States.

This is only partially on Donald Trump, of course. It would be remiss to analyze the President of the United State’s viewpoints without acknowledging those who have him in their back pockets. From 2016-2020, it was pretty assured that Donald Trump was working largely for his own gain. Now, however, it’s hard to speak of him without speaking of Elon Musk, whose ideas greatly influence the president’s actions. This is visible from the pair’s twitter accounts to the signing of the official Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Musk himself.

Why target transgender individuals? Well, it’s an easy diversion towards a vulnerable minority and just so happens to align with Elon Musk’s personal gripes about the queer populace. America’s queer population makes up only 5.5% of the United State’s populace. It’s hard to nail down the exact numbers as they change every year, but the total bill for trans support amounts to around $4.1 billion dollars (at least, in the era of the Biden administration.) If that sounds large? It’s because it is, but not in the context of government spending, where $820 billion goes to the U.S. Military every year.

As a queer individual myself, I must admit that I am incredibly unsettled to know that these sorts of funds, which offer revolutionary care to many people I hold near and dear, are being slashed. I’ve seen first hand the smiles on my transgender friends’ faces when they use the bathrooms of their choice, the joy in their voices when they realize they’ve “passed,” and the relief in their eyes when they look in the mirror and see the people they want to be. I worry what will happen to them, in this administration. However at the end of the day, we are but a minority, and we are vulnerable.

This is a time to band together. To have each other’s backs, and stand in solidarity. Together we are strong. Divided, we fall.