Understand the executive orders that affect LGBTQIA+ people, and how they'll change your work

Welcome to the weekly QueerAF Explainer, from me Jamie Wareham.

Every Tuesday, we publish a succinct, easy-to-read article on one of the week's biggest LGBTQIA+ stories first published in our award-winning newsletter.

You'll leave with a valuable analysis to help you understand what it could mean for your work, business, and career - right here on LinkedIn.

Let's get into this week's edition.

TL;DR: In the first hours of President Trump's second term, he used sweeping executive orders to end DEI programs, attack Trans+ rights and demonise immigrants. Within his first week Trans+ people have been banned from the military, Trans+ prisoners will be forced to go to prisons that match their sex assigned at birth, and Trans+ people will no longer be able to have their gender recognised on legal documents.

President Donald Trump came to power this week by implementing sweeping executive orders. They put in place the rhetoric and ideology he'd promised during the election campaign, demonising LGBTQIA+ people, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices, and immigrants.

The most significant of these orders for transgender people was a declaration the US will only recognise "two sexes, male and female". It will affect policies, civil rights protections, federal funding, prisons, and official documents like passports - BBC

Equally significant in setting a tone for Trump's anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric, and that towards all marginalised communities, he ended all government diversity, equity and inclusion programmes. By 5pm the next day, anyone working in DEI roles was let go, leaving thousands without jobs.

ILGA World, one of the largest LGBTQIA+ member organisations in the world, said these executive orders were made under the false pretence of “defending women”, but that they would instead "fail women" and have "very dire consequences" for the safety of many - ILGA World

What other executive orders affect LGBTQIA+ people?

The White House has said the executive order on only recognising two sexes will not affect current passports, but will be applied to any new ones and, crucially, those renewed under Trump's presidency - NotUs

The impact of defining people's gender to that as determined and assigned at birth has meant that prisons across the US have already been instructed to ensure "males are not detained in women’s prisons", and also ends rights to gender affirming care for prisoners - them

Elsewhere, the administration has already “eliminated nearly all LGBTQ and HIV focused content and resources” from WhiteHouse.gov and “key federal agency” websites, according to GLADD - Washington Blade

Other pages that disappeared include those dedicated to Nex Benedict and Matthew Shepard, both of whom died following horrific acts of anti-LGBTQIA+ violence - them

One executive order rolled back the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, which has been a bedrock of equal opportunity protections since the 1960s. It was brought in at the height of the civil rights movement and was a big blow to white supremacists and segregationists - Axios

Another repealed a rule established by former President Joe Biden that allows transgender people to openly serve in the U.S. military, completely banning Trans+ people in one swoop - Military Times

Lastly, the State Department implemented a "One Flag Policy" this week, barring U.S. outposts at home and embassies abroad from flying any other flag but the Stars and Stripes, thereby ending the practice of flying Pride and Black Lives Matter flags - Washington Beacon

Analysis: The woke scare

With these executive orders, Trump has created a witch hunt akin to the Lavender and Red scares that defined an era of American politics.

As the week ended, Federal employees were already being instructed to snitch on their fellow workers in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. The tangible fear of marginalised communities is difficult to capture in words - and that's by design.

The sweeping executive orders are supposed to make us feel hopeless. They're designed to make us debate the nuances, get distracted and be divided.

But I refuse. I know the fightback has already begun. I know there is nothing queers do better than organising, standing up for each other, and reminding everyone just how much love we have.

I know we've always been here, and always will be - so let's get stuck into the work.

What does this mean for your work, career and business?

Speaking to leaders and execs in DEI over the last week week, I’m seeing a dual narrative emerge that is more hopeful than you might expect.

Firstly, it's worth noting how incredibly hard the build-up to the new presidency has been. And while Trump's US looks set to increase the pressure to retreat from DEI work, Europe is clearly going the opposite way.

DEI leads told me that the arms of multinationals in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) are preparing for increasing diversity targets, especially from the European Union.

Equally, those who double down on DEI have an incredible business opportunity to stand out from the crowd and reap the proven economic benefits and profits of a diverse workforce.

If you're looking to persuade your manager to stick to their inclusion practices, ground those business decisions in facts. Some managers will be moved by sentiment and values of the time were in.

But for those who don't understand, or don't share lived experience they need data and economic cases combined with first hand knowledge of affected communities to make sound decisions on DEI.

Taking a holistic approach, with multiple strands is the most effective way to win the arguments.?

Help us fight back

During the last Trump presidency, the media danced in circles around him, repeating his lies uncontested. I refuse to play a part in that this time. Not when the lives of marginalised people all over the world, not least the LGBTQIA+ community, are at stake.

A core tenet of journalism is fact-checking. And a core principle of populism is lying. It's our job in the media to refuse to dance with lying partners - and instead, critique, analyse and hold to account all of their moves.

In moments like this, I look to queer history makers for lessons about how to navigate the hate directed against us. After all, they lived at a time when we were criminalised, persecuted and vilified. And what did they do? They fought back.

In this moment Audre Lorde would tell us to lead with our truth. As a journalist, that also means not repeating their lies. Not giving a platform to their hate - not even to conquer it.

In an age of populism, the more airtime we give to figures like Trump and Nigel Farage, the more real they become. They don't deserve our time and attention; our communities do. Research shows time and again that even just reposting their lies spreads them further.

During a Trump presidency, we need to cut through the noise, punch above our weight even more, and dramatically shift the scales.

That's why, if you find our unique approach to queer media, news and journalism valuable - we need your support.

Upgrading and becoming a paid QueerAF member is one easy way to fight back against Trump's lies - by helping us, and everyone in our community, lead with the truth:

We've always been here, and always will be. But can we count you in?

I'm in