Starting today, April 11th, 2022, there will be a third gender marker available on a U.S. passport. Represented by an “X”, the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken announced in June of 2021 that The U.S. Department of State is introducing the alternative to “take concrete actions to promote and protect the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons around the world”.
Also announced in the June 30th, 2021 press release, applicants will no longer be required to provide documentation to medically prove one's gender, and a passport will not need to have a matching listed gender to other identification or citizen documents. The state department conducted qualitative research, working with the CDC and the Preventions’ National Center for Health Statistics, and concluded that the “X” gender marker will represent an “unspecified or another gender identity” with the purpose of being “respectful of individuals’ privacy while advancing inclusion”.
See both press releases here: Link to June 2021 Press Release , Link to March 2022 Press Release
Photo: Unsplash
Comments