Lucy Dacus Pledges $10,000 in Trans Surgery Donations, Calls Out Lack of Government Protection

Less than 24 hours after being sworn into office, Donald Trump picked up where he left off in his rampage against trans people. One of the first executive orders he signed this week prohibits federal regulation of transgender identities. Now, more than ever, actionable communities are essential for the protection of targeted groups. Lucy Dacus is leading by example as she pledged $10,000 in donations to GoFundMe campaigns for trans surgeries.

“If trans people wanna comment surgery gofundmes, I’m gonna give away 10k in $500 increments until it’s gone, & if other people wanna scroll through and make donations, please do,” the singer-songwriter wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “The government will never be the source of our validation or protection, we have to do it ourselves.”

The thread has received more than 175 responses in the past two hours. “I’ve been debating starting one of these for a while and this finally encouraged me to full send it,” one post read. People in the replies shared GoFundMe links for their own surgeries as well as close friends who are saving up to transition.

During Trump’s inaugural address, he declared: “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.” Part of the executive order he signed prohibits the use of taxpayer funds being used for gender-affirming healthcare. It also targets trans prisoners in its declaration that prison placement must be dictated by sex assigned at birth, rather than gender identity.

“It’s very disturbing. Legislation like this — even if it hasn’t passed — creates an environment where people are incredibly afraid,” Asa Radix, head of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, told Rolling Stone last year. “This is the type of issue where people actually feel suicidal. Are we going to see folks dying by suicide because potentially of laws like this being passed?”

Rather than waiting for Democrats to pull themselves together, trans people and their allies have started to build barriers of protection on their own. Earlier this month, the Gender Liberation Movement launched as a national organization. The collective of organizers, activists, and volunteers have been making waves on Capitol Hill through their defense of reproductive and gender rights.

“Gender Liberation Movement is preparing for the numerous threats that are going to be heightened under the second Trump administration,” GLM co-founder Raquel Willis told Rolling Stone. “We are a collective built on years of deep, intentional, intersectional work around bodily autonomy and self-determination, but also just safety and security for communities on the margins.”