A marcher carries a flag representing transgender rights during a protest. Credit: Shutterstock / algobonito98

LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality Texas is giving San Antonians a chance to “Meet Your Friendly Neighborhood Trans Folk” on Friday, Jan. 24, as part of DreamWeek.

The event will take place from 6-8 p.m. at Tandem Coffee, 310 Riverside Drive, according to social media posts shared by the statewide organization.

The event follows newly re-elected President Donald Trump declaring at his inauguration that there are only two genders. His claim was accompanied by a executive order titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” The order states that the White House will “defend women’s rights and protect freedom of conscience by using clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male.”

The order specifies that the term “sex” should replace “gender” throughout the federal government’s policies and documents, indicating that the government will only recognize a person’s biology, not their identity.

Further, the document directs the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to “require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex.” This portion of the edict rolls back a 2022 Biden order allowing for an X gender marker on U.S. passports.

Trans activists remain defiant on social media, stating that the Trump order doesn’t negate their existence. Queer activists also note that only officially acknowledging biological sex gets complicated for the 1.7% of the American population born with intersex biological traits. 

“The Biden administration spent years dutifully updating agency regulations to comply with Bostock v. Clayton County, the Supreme Court ruling that expanded employment protections to queer and trans people,” officials with Equality Texas told the Current in an emailed statement. “Trump has promised to undo that progress, and his recent executive order spells out just how far he will go.”

Equality Texas describes its event as an attempt to humanize and highlight commonalities for a community that’s frequently singled out for its otherness.

“It is the time to learn and not judge but embrace the community who has been walking alongside you since the beginning of civilization,” the event description states.

Stephanie Byers, a trans woman and former member of the Kansas House of Representatives, is one of the event’s panelists. Last week, Byers shared a declaration of her own on Facebook in response to the incoming threats to trans rights by the Trump administration.

“It’s easy to get discouraged right now. We know what the U.S. House has done, we know what the incoming President has stated, but none of that changes Who You Are,” Byers declared. “They can force us to change what we do, what sports we play, but they can’t change our identity.”

“Trans people will still be born,” she added. “Trans people will still exist. We will remain.”

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This article appears in Jan 8-21, 2025.

Stephanie Koithan is the Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. In her role, she writes about politics, music, art, culture and food. Send her a tip at skoithan@sacurrent.com.