Pop superstar and LGBTIQ+ icon Cher has taken to social media to express her outrage following reports from the U.S. that President Donald Trump is considering a policy which would eliminate the recognition of transgender people.
The singer, whose son Chaz Bono is transgender, leapt to the trans community's defence after published a leaked government memo which stated that the new policy would legally require individuals to "be defined as male or female based on their genitalia at birth".
"The Department of Health and Human Services is spearheading an effort to establish a legal definition of sex under Title IX, the federal civil rights law that bans gender discrimination in education programs that receive government financial assistance," the New York Times reported.
The memo continued: "Sex means a person’s status as male or female based on immutable biological traits identifiable by or before birth. The sex listed on a person’s birth certificate, as originally issued, shall constitute definitive proof of a person’s sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence."
"Fk These Ppl.Will MY SON Be Sent To INTERNMENT CAMP 2 Live with LATINO Children,& Be Kept In Cages in Places where (US flag emoji) Cant See Them.THIS IS 'HIS CODE' 4,..MAKE THEM DISAPPEAR #MBS (sic)," Cher wrote in the first of a series of tweets.
Her son later tweeted: "I can’t begin to express the rage I feel toward an administration that is trying to redefine me out of existence. Just another gift for his small minded base, terrified of the diversity that has always made America exceptional! #Vote."
Cher has been a longtime ally and activist for the LGBTIQ+ community, becoming particularly involved in the 2016 Presidential election.
