The Feminist Coalition Archive Project 
Collecting analysis and resources
The new administration’s agenda is an inherent threat to our work, history, and activism as feminists. The Trump Administration’s strategy is to immobilize us—made evident by the overwhelming flood of shock-and-awe tactics, including 37 executive orders within the first week of office. These calculated and premeditated orders range from attacking DEI programs to ending alleged threats of “gender ideology,” implementing ICE raids, scrubbing critical resources and data from federal government websites, and much more. In 2017, Signs created a Feminist Resistance page to act as a repository for the resources the journal produced to critique, historicize, analyze, and teach about the first Trump administration. Now, in 2025, it remains of critical importance that feminist voices be amplified and proliferated, especially given the administration’s aggressive attacks on higher education in general and the critical study of gender, sexuality, race, and ethnicity in particular. The Feminist Coalition Archival Project (FCAP) is a living digital archive that documents and frames a history of the present. FCAP spotlights multidisciplinary efforts to resist, providing a digital space for feminists to access research, expertise, and resources to support our communities. In its acknowledgement of the magnitude of the Trump administration’s actions, this project centers our feminist praxis and activist efforts, brings feminist theorizing to bear on pressing political and social issues, and aims to form intermovement solidarity while taking action to preserve our histories and right to dissent. This project joins the many ongoing, multidisciplinary efforts of advocates, scholars, scientists, activists, and journalists (among many more) to preserve the social and political advancements in knowledge production and dissemination. —The Signs Editorial Team
The Anti-Trans Executive Orders
Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera at Pride, 1989. Digital Transgender Archive.
The Trump administration has launched a comprehensive campaign against “gender ideology,” issuing executive orders that define sex as binary and immutable, hinder the provision of gender-affirming healthcare, eliminate federal recognition and funding for LGBTQ+ programs, and otherwise alienate gender-nonconforming people from public life. “Invalidating the true and biological category of ‘woman’ improperly transforms laws and policies designed to protect sex-based opportunities into laws and policies that undermine them,” writes the Trump administration, “replacing longstanding, cherished legal rights and values with an identity-based, inchoate social concept.” This endeavor targets the everyday lives of transgender and nonbinary individuals who travel, parent, marry, work, go to school, play sports, and use public bathrooms. It also targets the longstanding feminist political resistance to rigid, largely Western male-female categories. The executive orders featured in this archive frame trans existence as an attack on womanhood, constructing women as helpless and perpetually vulnerable and undermining decades of feminist progress toward gender equality and bodily autonomy. Even putting aside the atrocious context from which these orders emerge—a White House full of men, including the president, who have been convicted of sexual misconduct—it is clear that these policies are designed to make trans lives unlivable, bolstering the same patriarchal structures that have historically limited women’s rights and opportunities.
While the primary targets of these policies are trans people, we must also recognize that governmental attempts to control individuals’ bodies extend beyond a single demographic, impacting all citizens. Anti-trans rhetoric, according to Chase Strangio, the first openly trans attorney to argue before the Supreme Court, is accompanied by a larger message about how men and women are supposed to act, live, and raise families. Indeed, the policing of trans bodies is just one facet of a broader system of control. Conservatives seek to limit how all people, regardless of gender identity, express themselves and navigate public spaces, as evidenced by law enforcement officials forcibly entering women’s bathrooms to remove butch women, erroneously identifying them as intruders. Despite the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to roll back bodily autonomy through the Supreme Court, state-level legislative attacks, and executive orders, the resistance remains unwavering. Legal challenges have already resulted in temporary blocks on some of the most harmful policies, including an executive order that would halt gender-affirming care for trans youth. Moreover, the transgender community and its allies continue to organize, remain visible, and resist attempts to erase their existence and rights.
We must seek to dismantle the institutions that control and pathologize our bodies. The resources in this archive—ranging from a directory of trans-affirming health and legal service providers in the South, compiled by the Campaign for Southern Equality; to Susan Stryker’s critical account of transgender history dating back to the mid-19th century; to an exploration of Blackness, transness, and feminism as interconnected and mutually liberatory frameworks by Marquis Bey; to A4TE’s guide to testifying for trans rights, and many others—offer pathways toward solidarity and community. We must equip ourselves with the knowledge and tools necessary to challenge the structures that seek to disappear trans people from public and private life and instead cultivate spaces of liberation, resilience, and joy.
Links to the text of anti-trans executive orders:
- Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government & Initial Guidance Regarding President Trump’s Executive Order Defending Women
January 20, 2025 - Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness
January 27, 2025 - Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schools
January 29, 2025
- Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation
January 28, 2025
- Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports
February 5, 2025
Other federal actions:
Analysis of the EOs
Judith Butler – “This Is Wrong” (London Review of Books, April 3, 2025)
M. Gessen – “The Hidden Motive Behind Trump’s Attacks on Trans People” (New York Times, March 17, 2025)
Erin Reed – “A Line By Line Analysis Of Trump’s Big Anti-Trans Executive Order” (Erin in the Morning, January 21, 2025)
Callie Ferguson and Erin Rhoda (Bangor Daily News), and Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi S. Cohen (ProPublica) – “Two Transgender Girls, Six Federal Agencies. How Trump Is Trying to Pressure Maine Into Obedience” (ProPublica, March 11, 2025)
Moira Donegan – “Trump is Unleashing Anti-trans Hysteria onto the World” (Guardian, February 28, 2025)
Williams Institute – “Impact of the Executive Order Redefining Sex on Transgender, Nonbinary, and Intersex People” (Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law, January 2025)
Chase Strangio – “Trump’s Anti-trans Attacks Won’t Stop With Us” (Time, January 21, 2025)
Colleen Hamilton – “The Fight for Trans Rights and Abortion Are Inextricably Linked,” (Them, December 4, 2024)
Carrie N. Baker – “Declaration of Carrie N. Baker, J.D., Ph.D., in Support of Plaintiff’s Renewed Motion for Preliminary Injunction,” Talbott et al. v. Trump (February 2025)
Analysis of Gender-Affirming Care
Erin Reed’s Erin in the Morning regularly covers new studies and corrects anti-trans misinterpretations. See, e.g.:
- “Debunked: No, New Study Does Not Show Transgender Surgeries Double Depression” (March 3, 2025)
- “Debunked: “The Swedish Study” Doesn’t Say What Anti-Trans Activists Claim It Says” (August 22, 2023)
Julia Serano (via Switch Hitter and her personal website) regularly discusses gender-affirming care and debunks myths about it. See, e.g.:
- “The Cass Review, WPATH Files, and the Perpetual Debate over Gender-Affirming Care” (April 23, 2024)
- “Making Sense of Debates About Gender-Affirming Care and Trans Youth: a Virtual Talk and Resource Page” (August 13, 2024)
From the Feminist Public Intellectuals Project:
For more sources on feminism and trans rights, see our “Radical Feminism and Trans Rights” archive.
News and Data
- Erin in the Morning – News and discussion on trans legislation and life, by Erin Reed
- Assigned Media – Daily coverage of anti-trans propaganda, founded by Evan Urquhart
- Movement Advancement Project – An independent, nonprofit think tank
- Williams Institute (UCLA School of Law) – The leading research center on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy
Immigration:
- Transgender Law Center – Know Your Rights as a Transgender or Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) Immigrant
Community Support
Legal Resources
Advocacy Organizations
Health
For Allies
Additional context:
Marquis Bey – Black Trans Feminism (Duke University Press, 2022)
Paisley Currah – Sex Is as Sex Does: Governing Transgender Identity (NYU Press, 2022)
Jack Halberstam – Trans: A Quick and Quirky Account of Gender Variability (University of California Press, 2018)
Julia Serano – Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive (Seal Press, 2013)
Susan Stryker – Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution, 2nd ed.(Seal Press, 2017)
Emi Koyama – “The Transfeminist Manifesto” (Eminism, 2001)
From Signs
Talia Mae Bettcher – “Trapped in the Wrong Theory: Rethinking Trans Oppression and Resistance,” Signs 39, no. 2 (2014)
Veronica Sanz – “No Way out of the Binary: A Critical History of the Scientific Production of Sex,” Signs 43, no. 1 (2017)
Mary Anne Case – “Trans Formations in the Vatican’s War on ‘Gender Ideology’,” Signs 44, no. 3 (2019)
V Varun Chaudhry – “On Trans Dissemblance: Or, Why Trans Studies Needs Black Feminism,” Signs 45, no. 3 (2020)
White House
Department of Education
- “2024 Title IX Regulations: Pointers for Implementation” (July 2024)
- “U.S. Department of Education Toolkit: Creating Inclusive and Nondiscriminatory School Environments for LGBTQI+ Students”
- “U.S. Department of Education Supporting LGBTQI+ Youth and Families in School” (June 21, 2023)
- “Supporting Intersex Students: A Resource for Students, Families, and Educators” (October 2021)
- “Supporting Transgender Youth in School” (June 2021)
- “Letter to Educators on Title IX’s 49th Anniversary” (June 23, 2021)
- “Confronting Anti-LGBTQI+ Harassment in Schools: A Resource for Students and Families” (June 2021)
- “Enforcement of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 with Respect to Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Light of Bostock v. Clayton County”
- “Back-to-School Message for Transgender Students from the U.S. Depts of Justice, Education, and HHS” (Aug. 17, 2021)
Department of Justice
- Attorney General’s Memorandum of March 26, 2021, “Application of Bostock v. Clayton County to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972”
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace” (April 29, 2024)
Signs Resources on Abortion and Reproductive Justice
June 29, 2022
The enraging Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is an urgent reminder of the importance of the ongoing work of feminist scholars and activists in the fight for equal rights, bodily autonomy, and full citizenship. Today that importance cannot be overstated. In these deeply alarming times, we feel it is critical to offer signposts toward a way forward. We are therefore offering free online access to Signs articles, essays, and multimedia materials on reproductive justice and abortion rights. The articles will remain free until November 2022.
#BlackLivesMatter: Resources for the Uprising
June 29, 2020
As protests against racist police violence and other forms of racial discrimination persist, Signs is pleased to offer access to many articles on racism and racial justice. We hope that they will be of use as activists, teachers, and others grapple with the histories of racism in the US, analyze the carceral present, and search for models of activism and thought that can create an antiracist feminist future. While this list of articles is not intended to be exhaustive, it aspires to reflect just some of the breadth and relevance of feminist scholarship.
Short Takes: Controlling Women by Kathryn Kolbert and Julie F. Kay
September 29, 2021
“The Body Politic: Representation and Reproductive Feminist Jurisprudence” by Michelle Goodwin
Cynthia Enloe Discusses Gender and the Rise of the Global Right with Agnieszka Graff, Ratna Kapur, and Suzanna Danuta Walters
September 12, 2018
Renowned scholar and activist Cynthia Enloe sits down with the coeditors of the special issue “Gender and the Rise of the Global Right“–Agnieszka Graff, Ratna Kapur, and Suzanna Danuta Walters–to analyze the role that ideas about gender play in the current political landscape, especially the increasing prominence of right-wing political figures and parties around the world. They discuss the extent to which antifeminism and antigenderism fuel right-wing political movements, the gendering of leadership and electoral politics, and the possibilities for transnational feminist organizing and resistance.
Ask a Feminist: Dolores Huerta and Rachel Rosenbloom Discuss Gender and Immigrant Rights
February 9, 2018
Dolores Huerta—renowned labor organizer, immigrant rights activist, and feminist advocate—speaks with Rachel Rosenbloom (professor of law at Northeastern University) about the role that gender plays in today’s struggles and social movements, especially those working on behalf of immigrants and workers. Drawing on her long history of organizing, Huerta offers insights on the contemporary political landscape—from the #MeToo movement to the fight for the DREAMers to opposition to Trump. Huerta’s long history of fighting for social justice serves as a crucial guide for building a sustained and intersectional resistance.
Ask a Feminist: Michael Kimmel and Lisa Wade Discuss Toxic Masculinity
January 18, 2018
Michael Kimmel and Lisa Wade discuss the role of masculinity in the current political moment, including the rise of Donald Trump and white grievance politics in the United States. A preeminant scholar of masculinity studies, Kimmel analyzes masculinity’s intersections with racism, sexual violence, and backlash politics. Wade, whose work has critically and accessibly interrogated contemporary gender dynamics, speaks with Kimmel about how the study of masculinity emerged and its importance in understanding the urgent challenges we face. Addressing masculinity’s central role in the contemporary US Right, in neo-Nazi movements, and in established US institutions, the discussion underscores the urgent need for feminist intersectional analysis.
Short Takes: Susan Bordo’s The Destruction of Hillary Clinton
August 18, 2017
Nell Painter, Carmen Rios, and Marjorie Spruill discuss sexism in the 2016 campaign, Bernie-Hillary tensions, generational divides, and media double standards in this forum on Susan Bordo’s The Destruction of Hillary Clinton. Bordo also offers a response and reflection on her work.
Virtual Issue: Feminist Resources for #TheResistance
June 5, 2017
Women’s March on Washington by Mobilus In Mobili
This open-access virtual issue draws on the Signs archive to provide resources to analyze and resist the reinvigorated attacks on women, people of color, immigrants, and LGBTQ people that have been precipitated, most immediately in the US, by the election of Donald Trump. The issue also aims to show that feminist thought—which has long been concerned with analyzing and resisting policy agendas, political discourses, and cultural phenomena that promote sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia—can play a key role in promoting forms of solidarity, strategy, and activism to resist these forces and to imagine alternative futures. Articles are organized into six sections:
- Models of Feminist Protest & Resistance
- Reproductive Politics & Health Care
- #NoBanNoWallNoRaids: Immigration, Borders, & the Nation
- Antiblack Racism & Criminalization
- LGBTQ Rights
- Gender, Authoritarianism, & Right-Wing Politics
Currents: Identity Politics
April 11, 2017
This installment of Currents: Feminist Key Concepts and Controversies features an essay by Signs editor Suzanna Danuta Walters, “In Defense of Identity Politics.” Walters’s accessibly written essay engages with critics of identity politics – on both the Right and the Left – to make the case that identity politics and feminist, intersectional analysis are vital to political resistance in the wake of Donald Trump’s election.
The essay is also accompanied by a digital archive that collects links to articles, podcasts, videos, and other resources that expand on the themes that Walters elucidates.
Women’s March on Washington Co-Chair Tamika Mallory Interviewed by Signs Editor Suzanna Danuta Walters
March 30, 2017
For a transcript of the interview, as well as additional resources on the January 21, 2017, Women’s Marches, click here.
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