Among the many executive orders President Trump signed on his first day back in office was one setting definitions on sex and gender for the Federal government.

Titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government”, the order’s purpose includes defining a woman and man as biologically female and biologically male, respectively.

This is something that worries transgender advocates, such as Sean Hayes, executive director of Trans Northland.

“We are human beings worthy of living our lives without fear of persecution and of discrimination and of outright violence that I believe and I worry that we will see more of as these policies continue to come down.” Hayes said in an interview with WDIO.

The order requires agencies to use the term “sex” instead of “gender” on federal forms and documents, including passports, and requires those filling them out to report the sex that they were assigned at birth.

“We are, going to be forced to check a box that is not who we are, and we are having to let other folks who are not transgender, who do not understand what it means to be transgender, dictate and write laws and tell us how to define ourselves.” Hayes explained.

The order also prevents federal funding for promoting gender ideology and has language on “privacy in intimate spaces”. This includes a directive ensuring that males are not detained in women’s prisons, though it does not include any mention of women detained in men’s prisons.

While Hayes says many in the trans community are feeling fearful or anxious about the next four years, he says they’ll all be there for each other.

“We are going to continue doing what we have always done in our LGBT community, going back hundreds of years. I mean, back to the Stonewall riots, back to when we passed marriage equality, we have always been here, and we will continue to be here and survive and build a community where we can actually thrive and care for one another.”

The full text of President Trump’s executive order can be found here.

More information on Trans Northland can be found on their website.