What to Know About Trump’s Executive Order on Gender

President Donald Trump holds up an executive order commuting sentences for people convicted of Jan. 6 offenses in the Oval Office on Jan. 20. Evan Vucci/AP Photo

President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20 and by the end of the day had signed dozens of executive orders covering a wide swath of topics, including energy policy, the southern border, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

The 47th president also issued an executive order addressing gender ideology, declaring that the government would recognize only two sexes, male and female.

“Efforts to eradicate the biological reality of sex fundamentally attack women by depriving them of their dignity, safety, and well-being,” the order reads.

“Accordingly, my administration will defend women’s rights and protect freedom of conscience by using clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male.”

Trump has also, by executive action, rescinded dozens of executive orders put in place by the Biden administration. At least four of those addressed gender and sexual identity.

Here are some effects of Trump’s day one gender policy change:

It Lays Down a Clear Definition of ‘Male’ and ‘Female’

The order states that the federal definition of “sex” will henceforth only reflect biology and “is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of ‘gender identity.’”

Further, it clearly defines the terms “man” and “woman,” and mandates that these definitions be used by all federal agencies.

“‘Women’ or ‘woman’ and ‘girls’ or ’girl‘ shall mean adult and juvenile human females ... ’men’ or ’man‘ and ’boys’ or ‘boy’ shall mean adult and juvenile human males, respectively,” the order reads.

It clarifies even further: “‘Female’ means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell. ‘Male’ means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the small reproductive cell.”

It also defines the term “gender ideology” as “an ever-shifting concept of self-assessed gender identity, permitting the false claim that males can identify as and thus become women and vice versa, and requiring all institutions of society to regard this false claim as true.”

The Department of Homeland Security and Office of Personnel Management are now required to ensure that government-issued documentation—visas, passports, and so on—reflect biological sex instead of gender identity.

The federal government will also exclusively use the word “sex” instead of gender, when making male-female distinctions.

It Eliminates Government-Funded Gender Identity Initiatives

The order prohibits federal funds from being used to promote gender ideology and requires an assessment to ensure grant money is not allocated to such projects.

Language promoting gender ideology is to be removed from all federal documents.

It also removes from circulation previous guidance documents such as “The White House Toolkit on Transgender Equality” and “Supporting Intersex Students: A Resource for Students, Families, and Educators.”

Section 5 of the order directs the attorney general to ensure that the right to “express the binary nature of sex and the right to single-sex spaces in workplaces and federally funded entities” is protected.

The order also eliminates federally funded gender alteration procedures for prison inmates.

It Undoes Policies from the Biden Administration

President Joe Biden issued changes in April to Title IX legislation, which was established in 1972 to prevent sex-based discrimination. Biden’s proposed changes expanded the provision to cover discrimination based on sexual or gender identity.

Those changes were set to be implemented on Aug. 1 of last year, but they never made it out of the starting gate. Attorneys general of dozens of states challenged the new rule, and on Jan. 13 it was blocked by a federal judge.

Trump’s executive order explicitly reverses that rule.

Trump has also rescinded four executive orders—addressing workplace and school discrimination based on sexual or gender identity, and establishing a White House gender policy council—that were put in place by the Biden administration.

It Keeps Men Out of Women’s Spaces

Trump’s action repudiates the Biden administration’s interpretation of the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which said that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited employer discrimination based on sexual or gender identity.

The Department of Education under Biden issued a notice in 2021 saying it would apply that decision to Title IX interpretation, which would affect schools and other entities receiving federal funds.

The executive order rejects the idea that this decision “requires gender identity-based access to single-sex spaces.”

“This position is legally untenable and has harmed women,” the executive order reads.

The order directs the attorney general to ensure federal agencies apply distinctions that are based on sex, not gender identity.

Section 4 of Trump’s order forbids men from being housed in women’s prisons, and calls for the drafting of a policy to ensure women have access to single-sex rape shelters.

It also mandates that access to “intimate spaces,” such as lockers and bathrooms, is determined in the same way. The order also explicitly repeals an Obama-era rule that allowed shelter access based on gender identity instead of biological sex.

Legal Challenges Expected

The executive order calls for a bill to codify its definitions into law. That bill is to be presented to the president within 30 days of the order.

Such a law will be controversial, and while it may pass the House, getting it through the Senate could be trickier.

On Jan. 14, the House passed a bill banning men from women’s sports, in a 218–206 vote, mostly along party lines. Only two Democrats supported that bill. However, the slim majority in that chamber may be enough to push other such initiatives through.

It may prove tougher to beat a Senate filibuster, which requires two-thirds support; Republicans have only a 53–47 majority in the upper chamber, and would need help from several Democrats.

LGBT advocacy group Lambda Legal issued a statement in response to the executive order, promising to fight it in court.

“The incoming administration has prioritized limiting protections against sex discrimination and abuse. Their appalling approach denies science and will make life immeasurably harder for intersex, nonbinary, and of course transgender people,” the group said.

“While much of what is called for by the executive orders signed today will take time to implement, we will vigilantly monitor and be ready to challenge when they take effect.”