COLUMN: Ellie Krug on Trans Advocacy With a Heart

 

January 29, 2025 — It has been a one-two punch for transgender people by the Trump Administration in his first two weeks. First the Republican White House issued an executive order banning 15,000 transgender service members from the military. Then Trump issued another order that bans any federally funded facility from providing gender-affirming care for any transgender person younger than 19. We’re talking hospitals, nonprofits, university teaching hospitals, and the like.

I commented in my “Being Ellen: Advocacy With Heart” blog on the order that drums out our transgender service members. I highlighted language in the order that robbed transgender people of their basic humanity. It called us dishonorable, dishonest, out of control, and selfish humans.

Today, I need to talk about Trump’s executive order titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.” It seeks to ban most gender-affirming care for anyone younger than 19, even in transgender sanctuary states like Minnesota.

Never mind that Trump lacks any legal authority for such an order. I’m certain that a federal judge somewhere will issue an injunction against it.

Still, the order is another broadside against my community and, with its focus on youth, particularly devastating. It states, “It is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”

Trump and his acolytes apparently believe that banning young humans from transitioning genders will ensure that in the future there will be no trans adults. As the argument goes, being transgender as a 13-year-old is just a “phase,” and with time the kid will come to his or her senses and realize they are not trans.

Newsflash: that’s not how it works. Humans are trans because they are wired in a way where their body doesn’t match their brain. Just like gay people are wired differently from straight people. And how left-handed people have different wiring from right-handed folks.

Being trans isn’t a “phase.” It’s not something you grow out of. It’s real. I can attest to the fact that one’s gender identity is not a choice. I wrote a whole book documenting my unsuccessful attempt to stay a dude (Getting to Ellen: A Memoir about Love, Honesty and Gender Change).

If you wonder why gender-affirming care for a trans youth is such a big deal, let me ask: Have you ever heard me speak? While transitioning genders dramatically changed my appearance, it did nothing for my still-masculine voice.

Puberty blockers — a component of gender-affirming care — would prevent transgender girls/young women from acquiring a voice like mine. That means it will be easier for them to blend in, make friends, be loved, and most of all, be safe.

This voice of mine? It’s been a huge barrier to romantic love and a trigger for others’ uncomfortable looks. In some situations, like when filling up at desolate gas stations in red states, it’s made me fear for my safety.

So yeah, this stuff is incredibly important. But Trump and his followers don’t care.

One last thing: right now, there are hundreds of thousands of trans kids/youth and their families reeling from Trump’s executive orders. They are in disbelief that a country they love could be so unloving, so cold. They may be despondent. Some of those trans youth may be considering suicide, given that things appear so bleak.

This is real stuff, with real consequences, and I’m mad as hell. If you want to do something, write a check to trans-advocating organizations like Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, or your local LGBTQ+ nonprofit.

Most of all, please care. There’s a real deficit of that these days.

ellie

 

 

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