President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will prohibit transgender women from competing in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but it makes no mention of transgender men.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Americans hold complex views on gender and sexual orientation issues. While many polls show acceptance for LGBTQ+ rights has generally increased over the past 20 years, most Americans are less supportive of transgender girls and women participating in women’s sports. A Gallup poll from May 2023 found that 69 percent of Americans believe transgender people should play on teams that match their sex assigned at birth.
Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order cracking down on transgender women participating in women’s sports, including a measure ordering Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to issue guidance with the goal of preventing the entry of transgender women seeking to participate in the Olympics.
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The order is his latest move that targets the transgender community since he returned to the White House last month.
What To Know
While the order focuses on prohibiting transgender women from participating in women’s sports, it does not cite transgender men, who would participate in men’s sports and are presumably not affected by the mandate.
The order also does not address whether transgender women could participate in sports on men’s teams—only that they cannot participate on women’s teams.
“The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall review and adjust, as needed, policies permitting admission to the United States of males seeking to participate in women’s sports, and shall issue guidance with an objective of preventing such entry to the extent permitted by law, including pursuant to section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(C)(i)),” the order reads.
It continues, “The Secretary of State shall use all appropriate and available measures to see that the International Olympic Committee amends the standards governing Olympic sporting events to promote fairness, safety, and the best interests of female athletes by ensuring that eligibility for participation in women’s sporting events is determined according to sex and not gender identity or testosterone reduction.”
The White House has not said whether it plans to issue further guidance on transgender men. But the issue of transgender men in sports has not drawn the same attention as transgender women.
There have been transgender men who participated in the Olympics, such as Filipino boxer Hergie Bacyadan.
Trump has issued several orders on transgender issues, including one that declares only two genders, “male and female,” are recognized by the federal government.
Another order addresses gender-affirming care for minors. Federal agencies have also removed language about the transgender community from their webpages.
What People Are Saying
Trump, in the order: “In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports. This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”
GLAAD, in a statement: “This administration’s latest inaccurate and incoherent piece of paper smears an entire group of Americans but does not change the law or the facts. All women and girls, including transgender women and girls, should be welcome to play sports if they want, make decisions about their own bodies, be hired for jobs they are qualified for, and be free from lawless attacks by elected officials.”
What Happens Next
The 2028 Olympics are set for Los Angeles during the last summer of Trump’s second term in office.
