WASHINGTON ‒ Over 175 organizations advocating for women’s and transgender rights submitted a letter on Tuesday criticizing President Donald Trump’s directive that mandates federal agencies recognize only two genders: male and female.

According to YSL News, the groups described the policy detailed in his Inauguration Day executive order as “cruel” and “unlawful.”

While the administration claims the order protects women, advocates assert in the letter that it could endanger individuals by spreading misinformation, potentially leading to harassment of transgender and other marginalized communities.

“We understand that the true objective of this order is to vilify, stigmatize, and discriminate against transgender, nonbinary, and intersex individuals as well as to reinforce traditional gender roles,” the letter stated. “It is shocking that you carry out these assaults under the pretense of ‘defending women’ while consistently undermining women’s rights.”

Signing the letter are numerous organizations, including the National Women’s Law Center, which spearheaded the effort, along with the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, Florida National Organization for Women, National Council of Jewish Women, Transgender Law Center, Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable, MomsRising, and many others.

The ideological struggle over sexual identity and transgender rights has played a significant role in Trump’s presidential campaign and within the conservative movement. Trump has vowed to push for a law that prohibits gender-affirming care for minors and to exclude boys from competing in girls’ sports.

Details of the order

Trump’s officials have emphasized what they believe are the positive aspects of the order.

“My administration will stand up for women’s rights and uphold the freedom of belief by employing clear and precise language and policies that acknowledge women as biologically female, and men as biologically male,” the executive order states.

It declares that the federal government will recognize two genders: male and female. “These genders are not alterable and are based on fundamental and undeniable truths.”

According to the order, the secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services is given 30 days to provide guidelines on expanding the definitions based on sex.

The executive order revokes supports that had been established in schools, federal workplaces, and other federal venues for individuals who identify differently, while also safeguarding the “right” to single-gender spaces.

It criticizes the Biden administration’s interpretation of a 2020 Supreme Court ruling as inappropriate, “legally untenable, and damaging to women.”

This implies that legal action may follow.

Advocates warn it exacerbates risks for already vulnerable groups

In addition, advocates and others argue that anti-trans rhetoric, stereotypes, and misinformation may escalate tensions among different groups.

“The safety of all women and girls truly relies on recognizing that transgender women and girls deserve equal dignity,” they noted. “We are not misled by your administration’s efforts to undermine the rights of transgender individuals, which serves as a gateway for broader assaults on sex discrimination protections for all.”

Additionally, experts highlight the complexities surrounding this issue.

Alice Dreger, a historian of science and a specialist in sex and gender, expressed concern about the implications for transgender individuals who have lived a certain way for many years, as well as for those who are “intersex” — individuals whose genetics and biology do not align neatly with traditional “male” or “female” classifications.

“There are individuals for whom this (categorization) simply isn’t applicable,” Dreger explained, emphasizing that every culture throughout history has included individuals who do not conform to conventional gender stereotypes.

A 2022 survey indicated that 1.6% of U.S. adults and 5.1% of those under 30 identify as transgender, meaning their gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth, or nonbinary, indicating they do not identify strictly as male or female.

To ignore the existence of these individuals “is not merely to deny reality,” Dreger stated, “it amounts to gaslighting the entire nation.”

From a biological standpoint, a person’s gender identity can differ from their genetic sex or physical attributes, noted Elvisha Dhamala, a neurobiology expert at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in New York. Her research indicates that sex and gender are represented in different areas of the brain.

Society already complicates life for those whose gender identities do not conform to binary norms, so “nobody is actively deciding to create more challenges,” Dhamala said. “They are merely trying to navigate the world and society to the best of their ability.”

In their letter, advocates affirm that transgender, nonbinary, and intersex individuals, including women and girls, deserve the same fundamental rights and respect as everyone else.

“We will not allow this executive order to deter us from advocating for the rights of all women,” they pledged. “We will strive to ensure that this executive order, alongside its harmful proposals and false narratives regarding our rights, will not endure.”

Contributing: Karissa Waddick and Karen Weintraub