On the evening of March 4, 2025, President Trump delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress that, among other things, highlighted changes and executive orders of relevance to the current administration. We at the library assume that many of you reading this blog also tuned in that evening. And we want you to know that we see and support you no matter whether you agreed with President Trump’s main arguments or found much of his speech’s content alarming, as I did.
Because the current administration devoted so much attention over a week ago to attacking minority groups, especially the LGBTQ+ community, in particular those who identify as transgender and non-binary, we want to take an opportunity to tell our LGBTQ+ patrons directly that we see you and welcome you to the library. As an institution dedicated to the access of knowledge and information, we aspire to assist you in better understanding the current administration’s actions and policies regarding the rights of LGBTQ+ people as well as guide you in your exploration of subjects related to transgender and non-binary identity.
For those who may appreciate a summary of the current administration’s policies and executive orders having to do with the LGBTQ+ community, we encourage you to explore this PBS fact checker focused on Trump’s March 4 speech as well as non-profit websites dedicated to summarizing and synthesizing information such as the Kaiser Family Foundation’s overview of impacts to LGBTQ+ health. More broadly, since Trump signed “an order making the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female” and another called the “No Men in Women’s Sports Executive Order,” which he says bans “men from playing in women’s sports” but is targeted at trans women and girls, we suggest those interested in better understanding the difference between sex and gender explore websites like those of the Yale School of Medicine or Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the works of scholars like a leading gender theorist and philosopher with a new book available among others in our catalog.
March 31 is International Transgender Day of Visibility, an event created to not only celebrate the lives of transgender men, women, and youth but also raise awareness of the discrimination faced by transgender people. Trans advocate Rachel Crandall created this day in response to media portrayals of transgender life and also as an acknowledgement that due to discrimination not all transgender people wish to be visible.
Unfortunately, the current political climate could mean more rather than less discrimination of transgender and non-binary people. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills proposed by state legislatures rose considerably in the last few years. We at the library acknowledge March 31 as International Transgender Day of Visibility and are here for patrons curious about what’s happening in our government, what’s being published in the news and other media, and what’s being written by and/or about transgender and non-binary people.
See below for a list of just a few of our catalog’s offerings by and/or about transgender and non-binary people.
List of Materials by Trans or Non-Binary Authors and/or on the Subject of Trans or Non-Binary Identity
Sources
Transcript of President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress
Fact-checking Trump’s claims during his address to Congress
Judith Butler: ‘We need to rethink the category of woman’
“Our Rights Are Consistently Under Attack”: Protesters Slam U.S. Gov’t on International Women’s Day
Trump signs executive order banning trans women from women’s sports
Overview of President Trump’s Executive Actions Impacting LGBTQ+ Health
Trump administration purges health websites
Trump administration removes LGBTQ and HIV resources from White House and other government websites
Elon Musk and Texas governor celebrate firing of worker over pronouns in email signature
Transgender youth rally and speak out against President Trump's executive orders
Yale Medicine - What do we mean by sex and gender?
Canadian Institutes of Health Research - What is gender? What is sex?
GLAAD - Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV)
Contributed by Sarah Broderick, Community Library Specialist
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