Drawing Gender Lines: A Content Analysis of Gender Identity Inclusion Legislation in the US, 2017-2020

Over the last ten years, politicians have been paying greater attention to the unique obstacles that transgender, gender nonconforming, or gender identity minorities face in the United States. As a cultural wedge issue in the US, some Republicans have begun to further marginalize gender identity minorities while some Democrats have begun to advocate for their protection and inclusion (Castle 2019). Though we have seen this growth in political attention, we have no clear sense of how transgender, gender nonconforming, or gender identity minority interests are being represented overall. In this paper, we investigate this question by tracing how these populations are being written into proposed federal legislation as leaders claim to represent their interests (Saward 2010). As a first step, we identify bills as “gender identity inclusive” (GII) if the bill explicitly targets gender identity or transgender in the policy language and expands rights or protections. Based on our search criteria, we identify 134 bills introduced to the US House of Representatives as gender identity inclusive between 2017- 2020 and conduct a content analysis. We compare the general policy objectives of the proposed bills (i.e. health, education, military, law, public accommodations), if the gender identity interests are stand-alone or linked to sexual minorities (LGB) and/or gender minorities (women), the demographics of the bill sponsor, and the overall support for the bill (progress, number of co-sponsors). The rights and protections of gender identity minorities is one of the most contested and controversial issues facing liberal democracies aimed at equality. This study reveals how some US members of Congress are challengi​​ng gender identity exclusion and marginalization, constructing the “front lines” of gender. Our study provides an in-depth analysis of how these new gender lines are being drawn.