The President signed an executive order banning “invented” pronouns from the armed forces
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE BY GAGE SKIDMORE VIA FLICKR
President Trump has signed an executive order prohibiting the use of “invented” pronouns in the US armed forces. This is part of an attempt to rid the military of what Trump called a “transgender ideology”.
The order, signed late on 27 January, altered military standards on pronouns and gender identity. Though it hasn’t said whether trans soldiers currently serving in the military will be removed, the order suggests being trans is incompatible with military service, citing issues with mental and physical readiness.
“Adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honourable, truthful and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life,” the order said. “A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honour this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.”
In signing the order, Trump said: “Many mental and physical health conditions are incompatible with active duty.” It added that the US military has been “afflicted with radical gender ideology to appease activists”.
The order directed the new Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth, to ban the “use of invented and identification-based pronouns” in the military and to stop “biological males and females” from using facilities intended for “the opposite sex”.
Hegseth wrote on X: “Thank you for your leadership Mr President. We will execute!”
Trump also issued an immediate ban on “discriminatory race or sex-based preferences” by any element of the military and the Departments of Defence and Homeland Security. This is part of a wider attack on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes. The President has previously called DEI policies discriminatory, dangerous, demeaning and immoral.
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