Truth in Gender Act of 2025
The Truth in Gender Act of 2025 would reframe federal policy around a binary, biology-based understanding of sex. It defines sex as immutable and biological (male or female) and distinguishes it from gender identity. The bill would require federal agencies to use these sex-based definitions in laws, regulations, guidance, and official communications, and to remove or eschew language that centers gender identity. It also would steer identification documents, personnel records, and grant-making toward reflecting and enforcing biological sex distinctions. The act expands protections and policies intended to preserve single-sex spaces (like prisons and shelters), restricts federal funding that could promote gender-identity ideology, and directs agencies to prioritize enforcement of sex-based rights. Overall, it aims to ensure that “women” are treated as biologically female and that “men” are biologically male in federal policy and practice, with accompanying limits on gender-identity considerations. The bill would require immediate guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services, mandates across federal agencies to implement these definitions, and new reporting to the White House about compliance. It also contemplates changes to detention, health care, and housing policies to keep sex-segregated spaces and services aligned with biological sex, while limiting the use of federal funds for policies promoting gender ideology. Critics might view it as constraining gender-identity recognition and related rights, while supporters would see it as a clarifying step to protect sex-based rights and women’s spaces.
Key Points
- 1Redefines sex and rejects gender identity. The act defines sex as immutable biological classification (male or female) and states it is not a synonym for gender identity, with women/girls and men/boys defined accordingly.
- 2Federal policy and terminology switch to sex-based language. Agencies must use sex-based definitions in statutes, regulations, guidance, and communications; “gender ideology” terms must be removed from internal and external agency messaging; forms and documents must request sex (male/female) and not gender identity.
- 3Identification, records, and funding changes. Government-issued IDs and federal employee records must reflect a person’s sex as defined by the act; federal funds should not be used to promote gender ideology, and grant conditions must avoid promoting gender-identity concepts.
- 4Privacy and protection of sex-segregated spaces. The bill requires that males not be housed in women’s prisons or detention facilities, seeks to rescind a HUD rule on gender identity in housing programs, and calls for policies protecting single-sex rape shelters and other intimate spaces designated for women or men.
- 5Rights enforcement and reporting. The Attorney General and other agency heads would issue guidance to protect the binary view of sex and single-sex spaces, with prioritized investigations and litigation to enforce these rights. Agencies must report implementing changes within 120 days, and the act would supersede conflicting laws and rescind inconsistent guidance.