Liz Keough wants to live in a society she feels safe in, but as a transgender woman, she is on high alert.
That’s because of a new executive order from President Donald Trump that she says puts her well-being in potential jeopardy.
“I’m horrified and dismayed,” she said. “I’m worried that this is just the beginning. This order is designed to deprive me of medically necessary treatment and access to public spaces. He’s erased the existence of transgender people from federal law, and any civil rights protections that I may have had are just gone.”
During his first day back in office Monday, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to only recognize gender as male or female, which affects documents such as passports. Additionally, the directive includes ending federal funding of gender ideology and instructs prisons to enforce same-sex gender in housing assignments, meaning a transgender woman could be moved to a male prison. According to the Associated Press, there are about 2,300 transgender inmates in federal prison.
The order sets a 30-day deadline for a bill to be drafted for Congress that would make the definitions law, and federal agencies must comply within 120 days.
Trump’s order says it is “defending women from gender ideology extremism” and is intended to protect “intimate single-sex spaces and activities designed for women” from those who “self-identify as women.”
The order was immediately condemned by LGBTQ activists across the country, including in the Lehigh Valley.
“We stand in solidarity with our community, affirming our shared resilience and commitment to fight for equality,” Krista Brown-Ly, interim executive director for the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown, said in a statement. “No matter the obstacles, we are here for you — today, tomorrow, and always — with compassion, strength and unwavering support.”
The Eastern PA Trans Equity Project stated in a release that “transgender people deserve the same rights and protections as any other resident of our country … We will not flinch in the face of discrimination. We know that our visibility and our actions will ultimately win the day.”
What to know about President Donald Trump’s executive order on gender
Corinne Goodwin, the organization’s executive director, says they received 40 calls after Trump’s executive order and communications increased by more than 200% after he was reelected in November.
During this time, Goodwin says transgender persons can best protect themselves by prioritizing their welfare, advocating, and making sure legal documents like a will, advanced medical directive, power of attorney and confirmatory adoptions are complete.
The Rev. Elizabeth Goudy of Metropolitan Community Church of the Lehigh Valley in Allentown said the church “has affirmed and celebrated transgender people” since its inception in 1984. She said parishioners are concerned “about the potential erosion of rights” and “elected and appointed officials do not always understand the lived experiences of LGBT people so a lot of educating is ahead.”
Keough says she is just like anybody else — paying taxes, taking care of a home and volunteering in the community.
“I’m just the person that most folks would love to have next door,” she said.
At 61, she is a grandparent, homeowner, and has a small business. She lives in Eaton’s West Ward with her wife, Jen Whitlock. They have been in a relationship for close to 11 years and have been married two-and-a-half years. In light of Trump’s executive order, she is more worried about the “daily possibilities of assault and harassment.”
“I’m also concerned that because I get my health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, that I may lose access to my physician, many of my medications, and basic life-saving screening like mammograms. I’m also afraid that they’re just warming up to make my life difficult,” she said.
Keough said her online community is preparing and “setting up underground railroads” to assist transgender persons in more conservative states, who she said are most susceptible. Plus, ad hoc networks are being formed quietly regarding housing, transportation, and employment, all in the name of safety, Keough said.
“Those who are paying attention to politics are particularly frightened of an administration that is openly hostile toward them,” said Whitlock, a licensed professional counselor that has counseled over 300 transgender teens and adults and owns and operates True Colors Center for Creative Therapy LLC. “And because of the systematic demonization of transgender individuals, everyday people are emboldened to openly target this vulnerable group that isn’t hurting anybody.”
Goodwin said people can support the transgender community by becoming acquainted with transgender persons, and to “understand that we want the same things, the same rights that any other person in this country wants.”
Additionally, she said standing up to discriminatory behavior, and writing legislators and local officials are some of the ways the public can help.
In addition, Whitlock advised not expecting or trying to persuade transgender people to identify with their birth gender, as it may cause more hurt and harm. Also, listening to the transgender community and posting messages of support on social media is helpful, too, she said.
“I can only imagine that, if anyone is afraid of transgender people, it’s because they’ve never knowingly met transgender people,” Keough said. “The fearful would worry an awful lot less if they spent a little time with transfolk, and found out how desperately ordinary our lives are.”
Sunni Battin is a freelance writer.
