On his first day in office, President Joe Biden has angered LGB groups and women’s rights advocates by signing an executive order prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
The policy, which will allow biological males to compete in women’s sports if they identify as female, directs all federal agencies to implement the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, prohibiting employment discrimination against LGBTQ people.
According to the order, the Supreme Court held that the prohibition of discrimination “because of… sex” in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 covers discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.
As such, the order, which was signed by Biden on Wednesday states: “Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports.
“Adults should be able to earn a living and pursue a vocation knowing that they will not be fired, demoted, or mistreated because of whom they go home to or because how they dress does not conform to sex-based stereotypes.”
The policy has triggered a backlash online, with many warning that it will bring about an end to women’s sports. Within hours of releasing the order, the hashtag #BidenErasedWomen began trending across Twitter.
“On day 1, Biden unilaterally eviscerates women’s sports,” Wall Street Journal report Abigail Shrier tweeted. “Any educational institution that receives federal funding must admit biological-male athletes to women’s teams, women’s scholarships, etc.
“A new glass ceiling was just placed over girls,” she added.
“Unilaterally imposing trans ideology on a nation with no thought for women’s rights is not how you create unity,” feminist activist Dr Clare Jones tweeted.
“We are appalled by @POTUS’ executive order erasing the sex-based rights of women and girls,” the LGB Alliance wrote on Twitter. “It deals a severe blow to women and girls in sport, prisons, rape shelters, hospitals etc and bans lesbians and gays from having our own spaces. We will help our US friends to oppose it.”
The group went on to say: “While we welcome the anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, the Exec Order signed yesterday is egregiously broad and effectively eliminates ‘sex’ as a protected class. #BidenErasedWomen with this far-reaching order, which will decimate women’s sports, safety and privacy.”
Colorado Congressman Ken Buck tweeted: “The country is struggling with a pandemic and President Biden is focusing on helping biological men compete in women’s sports.”
“Sad day for women’s sports,” said Erielle Davidson, senior policy analyst at JINSA. “Women must compete against biological males at the risk of injury and loss of title, thanks to a new Biden executive order.
“Don’t ever tell me this is ‘pro-woman.’ It’s not. It’s destructive and malicious.”
Welcome to Biden’s America, where, as Jeremy Boreing put it, “in the future, all the best women will be men.”
