Trump's gender identity rhetoric is seeping north of the border, say N.L advocates

U.S. President Donald Trump's declaration on Tuesday that the United States will only recognize two genders — and that a person's sex and gender can't be changed — has two Newfoundland and Labrador activists on high alert.

Gemma Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, already had plans to travel to the United States on Wednesday. They don't know whether Trump's executive order will throw those plans into jeopardy.

"Hopefully I'll get through [the border], but I don't know," Hickey said in an interview with The St. John's Morning Show. "But the thing is, we have to try."

The order requires the government use the term "sex" rather than "gender," while mandating that identification documents issued by the government be based on what it described as "an individual's immutable biological classification as either male or female."

In 2018, Hickey received one of the first gender-neutral Canadian passports, not long after receiving the first known gender-neutral birth certificate in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Trump's executive order directs U.S. officials to implement changes which will require passports to "accurately reflect the holder's sex." 

According to the text of the executive order, the purpose is to "defend women's rights and protect freedom of conscience."

N.L. gender activists fear for U.S. residents after Trump’s inauguration speech pushes two-gender narrative

8 hours ago

Duration 2:03

U.S. President Donald Trump says his government will only recognize two genders — male and female — and that biological classification can’t be changed. Activist Gemma Hickey was the first Canadian to receive a gender-neutral marker on their passport, and spoke with CBC Radio’s St. John’s Morning Show, along with St. John’s Pride co-chair Eddy St. Coeur, about the president’s actions.

Hickey, who said they're travelling to Seattle for work, said they've preemptively reached out to the Canadian embassy about their plans — and they're nervous about what will happen when it's time to cross the border.

"Yesterday … my mother begged me not to go to the U.S.," Hickey said. "She pleaded with me and I said, 'I have to go, I have to go.' And, you know, that's it. We have to go and we have to keep trying."

Trump's statements 'heinous'

On his first day in office, Trump repealed 78 executive orders signed by former president Joe Biden, including one prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Hickey said they believe political leaders are using transgender and non-binary people as a scapegoat to distract from other systemic issues.

"They can just direct all of the problems on one group of people and ignore everything that's actually going on," Hickey said.

Trump has also vowed to end federal government programs promoting inclusion, equity and diversity.

LISTEN | Gemma Hickey and Eddy St. Coeur discuss Donald Trump's 2SLGBTQ+ policies: 

St John's Morning Show18:10How could Donald Trump's gender identity rhetoric translate locally?

"We will forge a society that is colour-blind and merit-based," Trump said in his inauguration speech. "As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female."

St. John's Pride co-chair Eddy St. Coeur called Trump's remarks "heinous."

"I think it's really telling of the type of hateful rhetoric that that administration is pandering to in their voter base," he said.

According to a study published by The Trevor Project, a U.S.-based 2SLGBTQ+ suicide prevention organization, state-level anti-transgender laws increased suicide attempts among transgender and non-binary youth by as much as 72 per cent between 2018 and 2022.

Last year, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service issued a warning that extremists could "inspire and encourage" serious violence against the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

From south to north

St. Coeur said he's also concerned about how the Trump administration's policies will influence policies related to the 2SLGBTQ+ community north of the border. 

St. Coeur specifically criticized proposed policies in Alberta and Saskatchewan related to transgender youth, and a now-cancelled policy by the previous government in New Brunswick related to gender identity in schools.

"That's how you want to focus your society and see these people as dispensable?" he said. "That's the signal that I get from it."

Both St. Coeur and Hickey called on allies to speak out against policies that target 2SLGBTQ+ people.

"When there's any hint of animosity or hatred toward somebody from our community, shut it down. Shut it down and make it quite clear that that has no place in the conversation," St. Coeur said.

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