Reports by The New York Times stated that a leaked memo from the Health and Human Services (HHS) of gender to one’s biological gender at birth, thus eliminating the term transgender. Both HHS and the Department of Education declined to publicly comment on this leaked memo.
According to PinkNews, President Trump confirmed that they are “looking at” possibly enacting a new gender policy. However at the same time, in response to the public outcry of the leaked memo, the Trump Administration responded by deeming the media as “misleading.”
“My initial reaction was definitely one of shock, especially since it’s such a discriminatory potential policy,” sophomore Kaitlyn Duong said.
Senior James Veizades, president of the Gender and Sexuality Awareness club, questions the intent behind the memo and whether it is directly about the transgender community.
“I think the big part of it is that [President Trump is] just trying to erase everything that Obama did,” Veizades said.
Other Aragon students agree that this memo may potentially erase progress made by the transgender community under the Obama Administration.
Without the deliberation of Congress, through issuing a document called “Questions and Answers on the IX and Sexual Violence,” the Obama Administration extended legal protections to those who claimed discrimination “based on gender identity or failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity.”
Under the Obama Administration, one’s gender is widely recognized as a one’s own identity which one gives to oneself by choice. Sex on the other hand is recognized as one’s biological anatomy.
“Gender and sex aren’t the same thing,” Veizades said. “I was bothered by [the memo] because there is already a definition for [one’s anatomy at birth], and it’s called sex not gender.”
Senior Rojean Janzad agrees that individuals should choose their gender.
“As people, everyone should respect another person’s self identity,” she said. “I assume they also want the most accurate records, so why not take note of a person’s self identifying gender and if their anatomical situation is so important to them, then have that in addition to their gender identity?”
On Oct. 22, LGBTQ+ activists and allies held a protest outside of the White House with hundreds of participants shouting “We will not be erased.” Since the The New York Times leaked the memo, #WeWontBeErased has been circulating both verbally and on several social media platforms.
Janzad supports the hashtag, but believes lasting change requires greater education.
“Although I think the hashtag is a great way to start raising awareness, people need comprehensive education to understand the complexities of gender and gender identification in order to have true, lasting change,” she said.
It is unclear whether this memo will go any further, but many believe that the court system will rule against any potential further steps due to the previous policies such as Title IX that have been put in place.
Janzad summarized her thoughts towards the memo.
“I think the memo and the implementation of the law is disrespectful,” said Janzad. “Everyone should respect another person’s self identity. It’s the same as intentionally referring to someone by the wrong name to undermine their self worth.”
