The State Department has announced that nonbinary, intersex and gender-nonconforming Americans will be able to choose a gender option other than “male” or “female” when applying for a U.S. passport.
This policy change is part of the department’s effort to ensure the fair treatment of LGBTQI+ U.S. citizens.
A date has not yet been set for implementation of the gender marker, which is reportedly going to be an “X.” The department is currently evaluating the best approach to achieve this goal and noted that adding a gender option is technologically complex and will take time.
Countries like Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Nepal and New Zealand already have the third gender option in place and in use.
In the more immediate term, U.S. passport applicants will be able to self-select their gender and will no longer be required to provide medical documentation if their gender identity does not match the gender marker on their other identity documents.
The Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, applauded the upcoming policy changes and commented that this move would reduce the risk of discrimination, harassment, and violence for an already vulnerable group.
HRC President, Alphonso David opined that this is an important step towards achieving meaningful progress for LGBTQ equality in America, and will empower and enable millions of citizens to travel domestically and internationally with greater confidence that the United States recognizes their gender identity. He also called for the U.S. to “encourage other nations to adopt inclusive policies that support non-binary and transgender people.”
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