The MAGA movement hasn’t been secretive or aloof when it comes to their goal of erasing any reference to queer and trans people. Within the first 24 hours of Donald Trump’s swearing-in, the president moved to sign Executive Order 14168, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” This directive mandates that federal agencies recognize only two sexes – male and female – as determined at birth, effectively disregarding the existence of transgender and non-binary identities.
Subsequently, the Office of Personnel Management issued a memo directing all federal agencies to eliminate “gender ideology” from their websites, contracts and communications by Jan. 31. The Trump Administration took it upon themselves to erase references to the term “transgender” from federal agencies’ websites, including on the Stonewall Inn’s page for the National Historical Monuments.
Earlier this year, it would appear that bisexuals also became a target by the administration for erasure. As reported by the LGBTQ+ news Substack page Them. removal of mentions of bisexuality from the Stonewall Inn’s web page occurred, but went relatively unnoticed for a time, overshadowed by the removal of “queer” and “transgender.”
In the days leading up to Pride Month, the National Park Service apparently made the additional changes to the official website of the Stonewall National Monument, removing nearly all references to bisexual individuals from its historical content. The edits followed the earlier revisions this year eliminating mentions of transgender people, raising concerns among LGBTQ+ advocates about increasing erasure of queer identities from federal documentation.
As of May 27, archived versions of the website show that language once acknowledging lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) individuals had been revised to refer only to “gay and lesbian” people. For example, an earlier version of the homepage stated that “almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) person was illegal.” That phrasing was changed to mention only “gay and lesbian” individuals, but has since been changed back.
The “History and Culture” section was also altered, removing uses of the phrase “lesbian, gay and bisexual” in favor of “lesbian and gay.” That also has been returned to “lesbian, gay and bisexual,” although references to “transgender” and “queer” remain absent. Some parts of the website, such as the virtual fence exhibit and certain educational materials, still contain the acronym LGB. It remains unclear, however, whether those mentions will also be updated or removed.
The changes have sparked backlash from activists, historians, and members of the bisexual community, who view the omissions as part of a broader pattern of exclusion. Independent journalist Erin Reed, who first documented the website edits in her report on Them., described the revisions as part of a “bi-erasure” trend within the federal government.
Stacy Lentz, CEO of the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, called the removal of bisexual references “deeply troubling.” She added that excluding bisexual individuals from the narrative of the Stonewall uprising – a defining moment in LGBTQ+ history – is both historically inaccurate and harmful.
“That said, we find it deeply troubling that any government agency would erase bisexual people from their public-facing materials,” she said. “Stonewall has always welcomed and celebrated the full spectrum of our community – and that will never change.”
Kurt Kelly, co-owner of the historic Stonewall Inn, echoed those sentiments, warning that changing our history to make it more palatable to certain political agendas does real damage to queer youth today.
“The erasure of bisexual people from federal websites is not just a digital oversight — it’s a deliberate act of invisibility that harms an already marginalized part of our LGBTQ+ community,” Kelly stated. “We must unite as a community to always fight to ensure every identity under our rainbow is seen, heard and protected. Bi visibility matters. Lives depend on it. The fact they continue to do this on the Stonewall National Monument website is even more troubling knowing what Stonewall means to our community around the globe.”
Bisexual individuals were a significant part of the events surrounding the 1969 Stonewall uprising, which began after a police raid on the Stonewall Inn. The resistance that followed led to the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. Among those instrumental in organizing the first Pride events was bisexual activist Brenda Howard, often referred to as the “Mother of Pride” for her work organizing the Christopher Street Liberation Day March in 1970.
Advocates worry the recent changes reflect a wider rollback of LGBTQ+ visibility in federal materials under the Trump administration, which returned to office in January 2025. The administration has already faced criticism for deleting transgender references from public health resources and issuing executive orders that restrict recognition of gender identity in federal programs.
Following public outcry and the report by Reed, the National Park Service partially reversed course, restoring the term “bisexual” to most of the monument’s website. However, the term initially remained absent from the historical section. It has since been restored.
Critics argue that the administration’s focus on reducing the scope of LGBTQ+ history aligns with other anti-LGBTQ+ actions taken during Trump’s second term. These include rolling back civil rights protections for transgender people in schools, healthcare and federal data collection.
As public pressure mounts, advocates say the future of LGBTQ+ visibility in national landmarks and historical records may depend on continued resistance.
Why would Trump and his administration seek to eliminate references to the contributions of transgender Americans in our nation’s history? Who was ordered to erase the references to bisexual contributions from the website, and who later ordered it to be returned?
Specific answers to the question of bisexual erasure remain elusive. Part of the answer – to the question of the erasure of LGBTQ+ contributions as a whole – lies in a pattern seen throughout history, where governments have deliberately excluded marginalized groups from official records and monuments. The Trump administration is not the first to attempt to erase entire communities from historical memory.
Architectural historian Despina Stratigakos uncovered a powerful example of this while researching Adolf Hitler’s architectural ambitions in Nazi-occupied Europe. While searching for building plans and blueprints, Stratigakos discovered what he described as a calculated blueprint for erasure—something, he noted, “no historian was ever meant to see.”
Among the documents he found was a directive issued by Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel on Aug. 12, 1940.
“The document conveyed Hitler’s order to Germany’s Army High Command to destroy World War I memorials in occupied Belgium and France. The monuments, in Hitler’s eyes, served to defame the army and perpetuate hatred against the nation. Their eradication was thus necessary to restore Germany’s reputation and protect it for posterity,” Stratigakos wrote. “Here was clear proof that Hitler had directly intervened to transform not only the physical landscape of Europe, but the landscape of memory itself.”
Hitler’s motivations were rooted in “revenge” for the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I but “humiliated” Imperial Germany in the Nazi Party’s eyes. The feeling of national embarrassment created an environment where right-wing Germans’ resentment was locked in on its own people with different backgrounds or perspectives, who they would go on to claim were traitors to their own country.
The message coming from the White House closely echoes rhetoric once used by Nazi leaders in Germany, who sought to justify their persecution of so-called “internal enemies.” In that era, these so-called enemies included Jewish and Black Europeans, civilians accused of defiance, resistance fighters and others deemed undesirable by the regime.
Similarly, President Trump has repeatedly referred to his political critics and opponents as “enemies from within.” On multiple occasions, he has singled out individuals and groups who oppose his agenda.
“I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within,” Trump stated during a public appearance. “We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they’re the big [threat] — and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”
The fact Trump uses the exact same strategies as one of the most disgusting, anti-freedom leaders and one of the biggest war criminals in the history of the world should raise alarm bells for all Americans. The dehumanization of LGBTQ+ folks, immigrants, people of color and other marginalized folks has historically been used to justify systemic discrimination and, in some cases, the genocide of entire populations.
History repeats itself, and if we’re not proactive in stopping that cycle, America will become the villain in its own story.(Note: portions of this story were updated by Qnotes staff)