President Joe Biden wants transgender Americans to know he “has their back.”
In a message shared on social media Monday, the president asserted his support for trans folks and their “bravery.”
While Biden’s statement was lauded by some people as “historic,” “awesome” and a sharp contrast to former president Donald Trump’s attitude toward the LGBTQ2S+ community, a lot of trans people were quick to point out that the president hasn’t really used his position to help them in any way—especially in the midst of a wave of dangerous anti-trans legislation being pushed through in dozens of states.
Frankly, people are tired of being called “brave.”
Biden has officially been in office for nearly half a year now, and he hasn’t done much to tangibly help trans folks. During that time, states from Arkansas to Texas to Florida to Mississippi have passed dangerous legislation targeting trans youth and health care. Across the U.S., gender-affirming health care is still difficult to procure and even more difficult to pay for. And while Biden has vocally supported the Equality Act, it still hasn’t been passed.
So it makes sense that a lot of trans folks are out here asking Biden to do something, anything, to actually support them instead of just saying it.
Many Twitter users even pointed out the tangible things Biden could do. Like, for example, intervene in the state-level laws that are banning trans kids from sports, making health care more inaccessible or, in the case of Mississippi, literally forcing businesses to warn about the presence of trans people on their premises.
Then there’s the matter of passing the Equality Act, which would provide nationwide LGBTQ2S+ protections on the basis of human rights. Biden vowed he would sign it into law in his first 100 days in office, which are, well, over. And though the Act has passed the house, it still hasn’t made it through the senate.
And then there’s trans health care. Right now, gender-affirming treatment and surgeries are not freely available in the U.S., and they can often put people into massive amounts of debt. These treatments are life-saving, and would be infinitely more accessible to people if they were folded into public health care.
Or Biden could just send everyone a bunch of money. That’s the cost of being brave, you know.
One user compared Biden’s message to the wave of rainbow capitalism we get every year from companies that say they support the LGBTQ2S+ community but don’t actually do anything.
Hollow platitudes aren’t going to cut it, especially in the current moment where right-wing politicians are trying to legislate trans people out of existence. If Biden wants to really support the trans community, he needs to start acting now.
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