Transgender Iowans are protesting and speaking out in light of a New York Times report that said the Trump administration is considering "narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth."

The move would reverse Obama administration policies that granted federal protections to transgender individuals. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Education required schools to allow transgender students to use the restroom or locker room of their gender identity. Schools that did not comply risked losing federal funds.

But now, under the Trump administration's reported policy changes, transgender people wouldn't be recognized or protected under federal civil rights laws. The change would remove anti-discrimination measures for programs that receive federal funding.

“We’re looking at it. We have a lot of different concepts right now. They have a lot of different things happening with respect to transgender right now,” the president said Monday. “And we’re looking at it very seriously.”

When a reporter said: "Transgender Americans say you've given up on them," Trump replied: "You know what I'm doing? I'm protecting everybody. I want to protect our country."

OPINION:As a transgender woman, I can't fight Trump's policies by myself. I need all progressives to join us.

Will Billmeyer, 29, of Cedar Rapids, said he doesn't feel protected. He felt scared when he saw the news.

Billmeyer came out as transgender in 2015.

“My grandmother’s always afraid for me since I’ve come out,” Billmeyer said. “We already have very few protections as is. It seems we’ve only recently gained them.”

Since the report came out, the #WontBeErased movement has been trending on social media, as activists denounce President Trump and insist the transgender community won't be forced back into the closet as a result of the policy changes.

But Billmeyer said that he isn't worried about the changes "erasing" his identity.

"We're going to be around," Billmeyer said. "It's more like erasing the protections."

A glossary of terms to know when it comes to gender identity:

Ally: A person who is not LGBTQ, but shows support for LGBTQ people.

Cisgender: A term used to describe a person whose gender identity aligns with those typically associated with the sex assigned to them at birth.

Transgender: An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation.

Non-binary: A term used to describe people whose gender is neither male or female.

Source: the Human Rights Campaign; National Center for Transgender Equality

Lou Ramsey, 21, of Ankeny said it feels like the Trump administration is trying to eradicate the transgender community.

“It’s not that we’re being erased — it’s more like we’re being removed,” Ramsey said. “We’ve always been here; we’ve always existed. This is a more serious effort to make sure we don’t exist anymore."

Ramsey, who identifies as non-binary, said everyone should be able to feel comfortable. For people in the transgender community, a lot of the challenges they face are social issues.

Ramsey helped plan a protest, “Trans Rights are Human Rights DSM” at the Iowa State Capitol on Friday at 1 p.m.

Ramsey hopes not only transgender people turn out, but allies as well.

"What I want people to get out of it is that for cis people, I want them to come out and support their trans siblings and realize we are out there and we are fighting and we are getting tired," Ramsey said.

Read:Trans in Iowa: A Des Moines Register series exploring the lives of transgender people in Iowa

Gender is not just anatomy, expert says

Despite some societal perceptions, a person's gender is not defined by their anatomy at birth, said Emily Ball, an advanced registered nurse practitioner at the UnityPoint LGBTQ Clinic in Cedar Falls.

Gender is more complicated than that, she told the Register.

More: Medical resources for transgender Iowans

"There’s been a lot of studies that have shown individuals who identify as transgender or gender non-conforming, typically, when they have brain scans, their brains are similar to the gender which they express," Ball said.

Then there is gender expression, which is the external presentation of a person's gender, which can include choices in clothing, hair or behavior.

"There’s really no cookie-cutter way to describe it, and everyone is very individualized," Ball said.

There are consequences when someone is not able to express how they identify, Ball added.

Around 41 percent of transgender people have attempted suicide, in comparison with about 4.6 percent of the general public, according to a 2014 study by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Williams Institute.

While gender can be complicated, she said, quite simply, it's about respecting each other.

"In our clinic, we let our patient define what gender is and what it means to them," Ball said. "It teaches the patient and shows the patient we’re respecting them as an authentic person that doesn’t maybe fit into a clean little box."