American passports to provide ‘X’ option for gender

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has announced several measures intended to make federal forms of identification, applications for federal programs and travel documents more inclusive for Americans who identify as transgender or nonbinary, or who otherwise do not conform to traditional gender roles.

One long-awaited change will give Americans the option of indicating their gender with an “X” on passports starting

April 11.

The plan was announced last summer, shortly after the State Department rescinded a rule requiring a certificate from a doctor stating that an applicant had transitioned or was in the process of transitioning in order to change their gender on their passport.

Officials had said that making the “X” option available was complicated and would take time to complete. Douglass Benning, a principal deputy assistant secretary for the State Department’s bureau of consular affairs, said last week that the process had included collecting public feedback, consulting countries that had taken similar steps, and working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health to collect research on how to define an X gender marker.

“We are firmly committed to promoting and protecting the freedom, dignity and equality of all persons, including transgender nonbinary, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming persons around the world,” Benning said.

The Transportation Security Administration will also offer the “X” option for gender for applicants to its Trusted Traveler programs, which expedite travelers at U.S. airports and across international borders, beginning April 11.

The Biden administration said the option of the “X” category would soon be expanded to applications for federal student aid, discrimination complaints with the Equal Opportunity Commission and the White House’s security system for workers and visitors.

Activists said that allowing Americans to identify by a gender other than the one on their birth certificate on other official documents was a monumental step, given that many people face hurdles in changing or obtaining other forms of identification, like a driver’s license, that accurately identify them.