United States issues first passport with gender "X"

The United States announced Wednesday that it had issued the first passport with the gender "

" to a person who does not recognize themselves in the traditional choices "

" or "

", in accordance with the promises of Joe Biden to better take into account the rights of sexual minorities.

The US State Department has "

" and more broadly those who do not identify with the gender criteria proposed so far, announced its spokesperson Ned Price.

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This new option will be offered to all passport applicants from early 2022, he said, reaffirming the commitment of American diplomacy to "

".

At least eleven other countries, including Canada, Germany and Argentina but also India or Pakistan, offer the choice "

" or "

" in their passports, according to the organization Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion , headquartered in London.

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken already relaxed the rules in June by allowing US citizens to choose their gender on their passports themselves.

Previously, people who wanted to register a different kind than their birth certificate had to provide a medical certificate.

Democrat Joe Biden has made defending the rights of sexual minorities around the world a priority, more than any other President of the United States before him and at odds with his predecessor Donald Trump.

When he was Secretary of State for the Republican billionaire, Mike Pompeo had notably prohibited American embassies from displaying the rainbow flag, symbol of the LGBTQ community.