The U.S. State Department announced its first passport with the gender marker “X”. This is a landmark step for people who identify outside the binary male or female categories.
The announcement came after the Biden administration promised this year in order to make the documents more inclusive for people who identify as nonbinary, intersex or gender-nonconforming.
The State Department said the first passport with “X” for gender was issued this option would be routinely available by early 2022. This is also for passports and birth certificates of Americans abroad.
“I want to reiterate, on the occasion of this passport issuance, the Department of State’s commitment to promoting the freedom, dignity, and equality of all people — including LGBTQI+ persons,” State Department spokesman Ned Price’s statement said.
The State Department has also given US passport holders the choice of selecting their gender on passports.
The department will update the public via its website about when the gender “X” marker will be available to all passport applicants.
Earlier Americans needed to be certified medically if they wanted to mark gender on their passports different from their birth certificates.
The Human Rights Campaign which is a leading advocacy group for LGBTQ rights said it was ‘historic‘.
JoDee Winterhof, Human Rights Campaign Senior Vice President of Policy and Political Affairs released the following statement regarding this milestone:
“Official documents that reflect an individual’s true identity are essential to allowing them to lead dignified lives. The Human Rights Campaign commends the U.S Department of State for issuing the first U.S. Passport with a non-binary gender marker, a historic move that will mitigate the risk of discrimination, harassment and violence faced by millions of nonbinary, intersex, and gender non-conforming Americans who travel abroad. The United States must encourage other governments around the world to follow suit in adopting inclusive policies that recognize and affirm non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming people.”
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