The United States Department of State, equivalent to our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, formalized on Thursday March 31 the addition of an “X” box to American passports for non-binary and intersex people.
From April 11, anyone applying for a passport in the United States will be able to tick the “X” box, and no longer just choose between “male” and “female”, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Thursday. on the occasion of the international day of transgender visibility.
US citizens will be able to select X as their gender marker on their US passport book starting April 11. As we mark Transgender Day of Visibility, we mark this historic moment at the @StateDept as a meaningful step towards LGBTQI+ inclusivity. #TDOV
—Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) March 31, 2022
The measure follows Joe Biden’s promises to better take into account the rights of sexual minorities.
The White House also announced a series of initiatives to facilitate administrative procedures for transgender people: an update of the body scanners used in airports to take into account non-binary and intersex people; simplification of many administrative procedures; or even the creation of an information website on gender transition, aimed at young people and their parents.
Reluctant conservative states
The US federal government is implementing these initiatives while some conservative states have recently adopted restrictive regulations on the care of transgender minors, on the practice of sports, or even the use of the toilets.
In Texas, investigations have been opened against parents under a controversial directive from the governor, which equates certain “gender reassignment” procedures for minors to criminally reprehensible “abuse”. He cites surgical operations but also hormonal treatments.
In a statement released Thursday, Washington “once again condemns the proliferation of dangerous legislative attacks against transgender people in several states”, and adds that it considers “transgender people” to be “the most courageous in the country”.
Last October 27, the first passport with the gender “X” was issued to a person who did not identify with the “traditional” choice. It had been obtained after a long legal battle.
