United States issues its 1st passport with “X” gender marker

DENVER – The United States has issued its first passport with the gender designation “X” – a milestone in recognizing the rights of people who do not identify as male or female – and expects them to be the option for non-binary, intersex, and gender-unconforming people At the beginning of next year, the Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday.

The US Special Representative for LGBTQ Rights, Jessica Stern, described the moves as historic and solemn and said they would bring government documents into line with the “lived reality” that there is a wider range of human gender characteristics than the previous ones Two designations are reflected.

“When a person receives identification documents that reflect their true identity, they live with greater dignity and respect,” said Stern.

The ministry did not disclose to whom the passport was issued. A department official declined to say if it was Dana Zzyym, an intersex resident of Colorado who has been in a lawsuit with the department since 2015, saying the department doesn’t normally discuss individual passport applications due to privacy concerns .

Zzyym (pronounced Zimm) was denied a passport for failing to verify men or women on an application. According to court records, Zzyym wrote “Intersex” over the boxes labeled “M” and “F” and instead requested an “X” gender marker in a separate letter.

Zzyym was born with ambiguous physical sex characteristics but grew up as a boy and underwent multiple surgeries that court records did not make Zzyym appear entirely masculine. Zzyym served as a male in the Navy but later identified himself as intersex while working and studying at Colorado State University. The ministry’s denial of Zzyym’s passport prevented Zzyym from traveling to a meeting of Intersex International in Mexico.

The State Department announced in June that it would add a third gender marker, but said it would take time as major updates to its computer systems were required. A department official said the passport application and system update with the designation option “X” still needs to be approved by the Office of Management and Budget, which approves all government forms before they can be issued.

The department now also allows applicants to choose their gender as male or female, eliminating the need to provide a medical certificate if their gender does not match that on their other identification documents.

The United States is joining a handful of countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, and Canada, that allow their citizens to indicate a gender other than male or female on their passports.

Stern said her office planned to share the U.S.’s experience of changing its interactions around the world, and she hopes this could help inspire other governments to offer the option.

“We see this as a way to reaffirm and strengthen the human rights of trans and intersex people, as well as non-gendered and non-binary people everywhere,” she said.

AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this Washington report.