Biden's Transgender Day of Visibility Proclamation Sparks Reflection, Backlash

President Joe Biden proclaimed March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility. This decision sparked both reflection on the experience of transgender Americans and backlash due to the day coinciding this year with Easter.

Transgender Understanding: A writer in USA Today (Lean Left bias) reflected on his own experiences as a transgender man, voicing fear that “the visibility of transgender people is dangerously outpacing understanding of what it means to be trans.” The writer cited statistics finding that “Roughly half of transgender and nonbinary young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year” to call for increased efforts to understand and accept transgender and nonbinary individuals. The writer concluded, “I’m asking fair-minded Americans who share my desire for these young people to live − let alone thrive − to slow down, engage in deeper discussion and gather unbiased facts before forming opinions and taking action.”

Esoteric Extremes: The New York Post Editorial Board (Right bias) criticized Biden for recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility on the same day as this year’s Easter. The board dismissed claims of anti-trans rhetoric being the source of the backlash, writing, “Christians aren’t especially anti-trans; if anything, it’s trans activists who tend to be anti-Christian or perhaps anti-Catholic.” The board concluded that the White House has “lost all touch with what most Americans (of all creeds, races and gender-identification) believe,” adding, “the message is that the Democratic Party’s elite cares only about esoteric extremes, with no thought at all for actual mainstream America. Sad.”