US State Department issues first passport with non-binary gender X option: NPR

The US State Department issued the first official passport with the gender marker “X”, a change the Biden administration promised earlier this year to make documents more inclusive for people who identify as non-binary , intersex and gender non-conforming.

The department will be able to offer this option to all passport applicants once it finishes updating its systems and forms by early 2022, according to State Department spokesman Ned. Price.

“I would like to reiterate, on the occasion of the issuance of this passport, the State Department’s commitment to promote the freedom, dignity and equality of all, including LGBTQI + people,” Price said. noted in a statement Wednesday.

The ministry will inform the public through its website when the gender marker “X” will be available to all passport applicants.

Change comes after federal discrimination lawsuit

Earlier this year, the department announced it would make the change following a lawsuit brought by Dana Zzyym, an intersex and non-binary Colorado resident who argued that it was impossible to obtain a passport with her exact sex because “female” and “male” were the only options. .

“This is great news for all intersex and non-binary people, because it basically says we can get our passports,” Zzyym told NPR in June. “We don’t have to lie to get our passports. We can just be ourselves.”

Lambda Legal, who represented Zzyym in their lawsuit, announcement Wednesday that it was Zzyym who received the first passport with an “X” gender marker.

United States joins growing list of countries amending their passports

Also in June, the ministry said it would immediately begin allowing applicants to select “M” or “F” as their gender without providing a medical certificate if their choice does not match their gender on other documents.

The policy changes also apply to Consular Reports of Birth Abroad, or CRBA.

The change brings the United States closer to several other countries that already issue passports with gender markers other than “F” or “M,” including Canada, Australia, India, Malta, Nepal and New Zealand.