Michael Stevens charts the astonishing rollbacks in DEI policies and trans rights since Donald Trump returned to office—and braces for the impact this will have on New Zealand.
It feels like the winds of change are blowing, and not in a way that is good for our communities.
Since Trump’s inauguration, there has been a chaotic flurry of executive orders.
- The State Department’s pages on LGBTQI+ human rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights have been taken down.
- The terms gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trans have all been censored from the White House website.
- The Spanish version of the White House website has been removed.
- Trump has repealed the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
- NASA has been told to remove all references to DEI in its hiring policies.
- Trump has declared there are only two genders, and people must identify as the sex they were born.
And that’s not all.
Republican politicians in Idaho are asking the Supreme Court to reconsider the legality of marriage equality. They want to overturn the rights of same-sex couples to get married. That’s big. Remember, it seemed impossible that abortion rights would be overturned in the USA—but they were. By the same style of politicians.
Republicans have created a new rule for Congress stating that people can only use the bathroom that aligns with their biological sex. This is entirely aimed at Congresswoman Sarah McBride, who happens to be trans.
DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programmes are under serious attack in the U.S. following the recent election (and there have also been a few politicians here in Aotearoa sneering at them quietly). Some right-wing commentators even called former Vice President Kamala Harris “just a DEI hire,” implying she only got the nomination because she is a woman from a minority ethnic group. Racism is being legitimised, as is Islamophobia.
Meta—the company that owns Facebook and Instagram (among others)—has removed its DEI team entirely. They have also removed all sanitary products like tampons and pads from men’s toilets in their offices. This is aimed at trans men and serves no purpose other than to intimidate and discriminate. Messenger, owned by Meta, has removed the trans and non-binary themes as options. Pride is still there, but for how long?
None of this is accidental. It is a planned attack. And while they are mainly focusing on trans and gender-diverse people right now, many queer American activists are clear that this administration will come for lesbians, gays, and bisexuals as well. They are picking off what they see as the most vulnerable first.
Why does this matter to New Zealand?
You might think, “All this is happening in America—why does it matter to us?”
It matters a lot because these are indicators of what Trump-aligned politicians and businesspeople around the world will do. And we have some of those here.
Last year, the ACT Party strongly criticised the Reserve Bank for hiring a Diversity Advisor. It claimed this role had nothing to do with its work and that the bank should not be indulging in such things. Apparently, being a good, inclusive employer is now a bad thing—according to ACT.
Both Costco and Apple were the targets of social media campaigns trying to force them to abandon their commitments to DEI—but both refused. They were clear: DEI is good for business and part of their culture.
So why are these programmes—especially those focused on our communities—being targeted now? What is it about them that enrages the Right so much? I think it’s because they create visibility for minority groups, and this makes many in the majority uncomfortable.
Lesbian, Gay, Trans, Bi, Non-Binary—we make right-wingers uncomfortable just by existing, just by being different. And they do see us as one group.
I know some gay men and lesbians argue that being same-sex attracted is not the same as having a different gender identity. Some believe “respectable” gays and lesbians should be seen as different from the more “radical” members of the Queer community.
But to the rest of the world, we are one and the same.
What’s next for New Zealand?
It is hard to see just how closely Aotearoa will follow these trends, but we need to watch vigilantly—and unite against them.
We are a small group in the wider scheme of things, but symbolically, we are big. Attacking us—and these programmes—sends a clear message to wider society that things are changing.
Progress is never inevitable. Rights that are won can be lost.
We deserve full inclusion and equality in our society—just as people of different ethnicities, religions, and abilities do. But now, we need to be ready to fight for it.
Main image adapted from | “President Donald J. Trump for Time Magazine in 2019” by Pari Dukovic, inkjet print, June 17, 2019 (printed 2020). National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright 2019 Pari Dukovic.
