U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi has collaborated with Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas to introduce the Defining Male and Female Act of 2025. This legislation aims to legally define male, female, and sex to reflect biological distinctions.
The proposed act seeks to codify the principles set forth by President Trump’s Executive Order, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” This order asserts that sex is determined at conception based on reproductive cell size and mandates adherence to this distinction at the federal level.
Senator Hyde-Smith stated, “By affirming biological truth, we defend fairness in sports, safeguard women and children, and uphold the principles of Title IX as Congress intended. Because the other side spent four years pretending boys were girls, it’s time to restore common sense once and for all by establishing clear, legal, and biologically-accurate definitions of male and female.”
Senator Marshall expressed concern over what he describes as the Democrats’ “radical transgender agenda,” adding, “We shouldn’t need legislation to tell us the basic reality that there are only two sexes, but here we are. I’m thankful President Trump has made this a top priority and signed an Executive Order on his first day in office recognizing that there are only two sexes. Congress must ensure this historic action is written into law by passing the Defining Male and Female Act.”
The legislation also has original cosponsors, including Senators Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Tim Sheehy of Montana, and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska. U.S. Representative Mary Miller from Illinois has introduced a House companion measure.
Earlier in March, Senator Hyde-Smith criticized Senate Democrats for filibustering the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, legislation that would ensure Title IX provisions treat gender as recognized solely by an individual’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth. The bill would prohibit federally funded entities from allowing males to participate in women’s sports events.
