Demonstration of the LGTBI collective in front of the White House, in Washington, in 2017. JOSE LUIS MAGANA (AFP)
Starting this Monday, non-binary or intersex people will be able to mark an X as gender on their US passport applications.
This April 11, the measure, which was announced last June, has come into force and aims to give visibility and recognition to citizens who do not identify with the masculine or feminine options.
In October 2021, the State Department began issuing the first such passport after an intersex person from Colorado won a court battle dating back to 2015.
People who enter the government page to start the process of their passport will find the option.
“You can choose male (M [for Male]), female (F[Female]), or an unspecified gender identity (X),” says the State Department.
The official definition of the lyrics is “Not specified or other gender identity”, a description that was arrived at by seeking a consensus of public opinion and based on interviews with people from the LGTBI movement.
Medical certification is no longer required for applicants, a requirement previously required by those assigned a different gender at birth.
All passports issued in the US include this new formula, but we will have to wait until the end of 2023 for the card format and the emergency books created by consulates and embassies.
The X is one more victory for the LGTBI movement.
This particular battle began when the government denied a passport to Dana Zzyym, a person from Colorado who had crossed out the M and F boxes and written “intersex” on the application.
ZZyym was born male, the same gender as he served in the US Army, but later identified as intersex while attending state university, where he became interested in such issues and worked as an activist.
The refusal of the State Department prevented the activist from attending a congress in Mexico of intersex people.
This motivated her to sue the branch of the Executive in charge of Foreign Affairs.
Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State, announced at the end of June that the Administration was committed to the "freedom and dignity" of the people who make up the LGTBI movement.
Among the reforms came the introduction of new gender options in official documents.
The change, however, has taken time because it required an update of the operating systems used by the bureaucracy.
The United States thus joins a handful of nations that offer the option to their citizens, among which are Canada, Australia, India, Malta, Nepal and New Zealand.
The new path taken by the Administration was applauded by the LGTBI collective.
“This is great news for all non-binary and intersex people.
Basically, they have given us the right to have a passport,” Dana Zzyym told public radio last June.
His documentation, with the first X given by the Government, reached his hands in December.
“We no longer have to lie to get the official document.
We can be ourselves,” added Zzyym.