Sawt Falasteen - Trump decrees end of diversity programs, LGBTQ protections

On the campaign trail Trump vilified diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the federal government and corporate world, saying they discriminated against white people -- men in particular.

He also demonized any recognition of gender diversity, attacking transgender people -- notably transgender women in sports -- and gender-affirming care for children.

In front of a crowd of supporters in a Washington arena, Trump wiped out 78 executive orders, actions and presidential memoranda issued by his predecessor Joe Biden.

Several of the overturned decrees promoted diversity and equality in the government, workplaces and healthcare, as well as the rights of LGBTQ Americans.

In doing so Trump fulfilled a campaign promise to immediately curtail programs that sought to redress historical inequality but that he has insisted disadvantage white people, particularly men.

He scrapped Biden-era executive orders that prevented "discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation", discrimination for LGBTQ Americans in education, as well as equity programs for Black and Hispanic Americans.

In his inauguration speech at the US Capitol ahead of the stadium signing, Trump also said "as of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female."

The policies will almost certainly face legal challenges.

Outside the historic Stonewall Inn in New York City, a focal point of the struggle for LGBTQ rights, members of the community were defiant.

"These announcements and these policy changes really affect people in a deep level," Angel Bullard, a 22-year-old transgender student from Wyoming, told AFP.

"It's a horrible place to be when you are unaffirmed and alone in this world."

- 'Gender ideology' -

In practical terms going forward, official documents would be forced to "reflect sex accurately," a Trump administration official said ahead of the inauguration, without stating whether that meant gender assigned at birth.

"No longer will the federal government be promoting gender ideology," the official said.

The government would also only recognize two genders -- male and female -- ending official policies that recognized a third gender, denoted by an "X" on US passports for example.

The official did not specify any clear policies on gender transitions -- but did suggest that genders assigned at birth could not be changed.

Access to gender affirming medical care could be at risk where federal funds are involved, warned Jami Taylor, a politics professor at Toledo University and an expert on LGBTQ policy.

That could apply in cases funded by state-run insurances Medicare and Medicaid, used by older and less well-off Americans, or in federal prisons.

Ahead of the election, Trump planned to "ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that the only genders recognized by the US government are male and female, and they are assigned at birth," his political program stated.

He had also promised to ban gender-affirming care for minors and to take legal action against any doctors and educators who carry out or enable the practice.

The LGBTQ Victory Fund, which seeks to promote political candidates friendly to the community, said "work to elect pro-equality LGBTQ candidates is even more critical as our community faces continued backlash, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and rollback of pro-equality mandates."

The LGBT National Help Center has been receiving about 2,000 calls per day since the election results, instead of the usual 300, according to its director Aaron Almanza.

Anti-trans rhetoric was a mainstay of Trump's campaign rallies, drawing huge cheers from crowds.

V.AbuAwwad--SF-PST