In my theatre class, we were asked to devise a theatrical presentation of a current cultural happening. While we all focused on different political movements and events, the one presentation that struck me the most was a collage that focused on the Trump administration’s attempt to redefine gender. 

On Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018, The New York Times posted ‘‘Transgender’ Could Be Defined out of Existence Under Trump Administration,’ which caught the attention of second-year student Sarah Alfey, a theatre and strategic communications double major from Denver. It was this article and its title that inspired her devised theatre project. 

“I chose to do my devised project on the announcement because trans rights are really important and a big part of my life,” explained Alfey. “One of my best friends when I was younger struggled with gender dysmorphia for many years, and finally ended up taking their own life because they couldn’t find a way to accept themselves.” 

Alfey’s hope is to bring awareness to trans rights through her project and outside of it in order to prevent something like that from happening again. 

“Accept and love everyone, and give everyone a safe place to be whoever they want to be.”

 Under the Trump administration, gender would be defined as a “biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth.” The memo leaked to The New York Times and provided by the Department of Health and Human Services suggests that gender is unchangeable, therefore eradicating federal recognition of the estimated 1.4 million Americans who define themselves as a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth. 

It’s hard to imagine the outrage, the pain and the anger that the transgender community is experiencing since this news came out. To be told that you cannot change yourself or express yourself in a way that makes you happy is an injustice to your civil rights. 

“I didn’t emotionally process it until yesterday. I saw it and I read through the article, but I didn’t think about it too much because I had too much stuff going on,” said June Churchill, a second-year physics and astronomy major from Colorado Springs, Colo. 

“But then the farther its gone on and the more I’ve read, the more I’ve seen, the worse and worse it’s gotten, especially for my own mental health. Pretty much all of yesterday, I was on the verge of tears.”

Churchill is a transgender woman and the vice president of the Queer Student Alliance (QSA) on campus. She has spent this last week consoling members of her community despite the emotional and mental toll this experience has taken on her.

With this devastating and aggravating news, it’s hard to stay optimistic; however, now is the time to show support, to become allies and to learn. As a community, we must come together to support our open and closeted transgender peers during this difficult time, Churchill suggested. 

Churchill suggests openly showing your support for the community in any way possible. It’s the small things like wearing ally pins, introducing yourself using your preferred pronouns, using your pronouns in emails or putting a sticker on your door that have a huge impact. 

She added, “A societal change comes from allies being supportive, being affirming and standing up against injustice like this and standing up against civil rights violations like this.”