United States released its first passport with Gender ‘X’ category for THESE citizens – Know more

The United States released its first passport where it added an ‘X’ that will be a representation for the non-binary, intersex, and those who are gender non-conforming individuals applying for the US or a CRBA passport.

The State Department of the country took this step in order to acknowledge the LGBTQ community. The US special diplomatic envoy for LGBTQ rights, Jessica Stern, called the moves historic and celebratory, saying they bring the government documents in line with the lived reality that there is a wider spectrum of human sex characteristics than is reflected in the previous two designations.

The State Department had hinted at introducing a third gender on its passport gender list for the nonbinary, intersex, and gender-nonconforming people. However, they had also said that it might take time to make the move since it would mean updating all computer systems that will require extensive updates to their computer systems.

The United States has joined countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, and Canada, in allowing its citizens to designate a gender other than male or female on their passports. A department official declined to say whether it was for Dana Zzyym, an intersex Colorado resident who has been in a legal battle with the department since 2015, saying the department does not usually discuss individual passport applications because of privacy concerns.

Zzyym was denied a passport for failing to check male or female on an application. According to court documents, Zzyym wrote intersex above the boxes marked M and F and requested an X gender marker instead in a separate letter. “We see this as a way of affirming and uplifting the human rights of trans and intersex and gender-nonconforming and nonbinary people everywhere,” added Jessica Stern.