Why LGBTQ+ groups aren't fazed by Trump's 'Title IX Month' attention grab

The Trump administration has dubbed June "Title IX Month" while refusing to acknowledge the LGBTQ+ community — but Pride Month is happening whether the president likes it or not.

Trump announced Monday that the U.S. Department of Education would be recognizing June as Title IX Month, which is supposedly "dedicated to commemorating women and celebrating their struggle for, and achievement of, equal educational opportunity." To mark the month, the Office for Civil Rights will be launching investigations into the University of Wyoming and Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado over possibly allowing trans women and girls in women's facilities.

LGBTQ+ activists contend that the declaration is nothing more than a stunt meant to further justify stripping transgender people of legal protections — though they're not too concerned about it.

"Speaking of Title IX, we have and will continue to fight for policies that protect all students from discrimination and will resist any and all attempts to roll back those protections," a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign told The Advocate. "Pride is a protest, and it's happening whether the most-anti LGBTQ+ administration in history acknowledges it or not."

Title IX, enacted as one of the Education Amendments of 1972, is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in educational programs. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that federal laws protecting against sex discrimination in employment, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, encompass gender identity.

The Trump administration has attempted to ban trans athletes from participating in school or community sports by threatening to withhold federal funding from states that do not comply with his executive orders — which are being challenged in courts and are not law — on the unfounded basis that they are a danger to cisgender women.

A recent comprehensive review of several studies on trans participation in sports under their gender identity found that trans athletes, post transition, are "more similar to their gender identity" than their sex at birth. It noted that both transgender and cisgender athletes show great variations in ability.

A GLAAD spokesperson dismissed the claims that the Trump administration's attacks against trans people are legitimately motivated by safety, stating, "A White House that has illegally withheld funding, illegally tried to dismantle the Department of Education, and is led by a convicted felon found liable for sexual abuse, is not a credible 'protector' of any American woman."

"This is another example of the White House refusing to do its job to protect all women and girls and instead crank up their propaganda machine to target LGBTQ people," the spokesperson said. "Celebrating Title IX should mean recognizing and advancing the needs of all women and girls, including transgender women and girls who are, in fact, women and girls."

"The problem in sports is not transgender people, who follow all guidelines to participate, it is a political disinformation campaign that looks to scapegoat while refusing to help women and girls get the health care they need, support ways to play sports if they want, and promote policies that ensure they can live a life of their own choosing," they concluded.