Trump’s anti-trans executive orders to remove X gender markers on passports in the US
The White House suggested that President Donald Trump’s executive orders will remove the non-binary inclusive marker on passports. (Getty)
President Donald Trump has delivered a series of executive orders after being sworn into office, one of which declared that the US government will recognise “only two genders, male and female”. The White House has now suggested that the executive order will remove the “X” gender marker on passports and other government-issued IDs for trans and non-binary people in the US.
After Trump signed the legislation, it required that IDs, including passports and visas, must show a person’s biological sex as “either male or female”. Reports previously suggested that this would “up-end” the “pioneering passport change” during former president Joe Biden’s administration which allowed those who do not identify as male or female to select the gender marker “X” instead.
NBC News found that a page on the US State Department site which previously outlined how to update passport gender markers was no longer accessible, as of Tuesday (21 January) and now redirects to a general US passport page.
Now, a State Department spokesperson confirmed to PinkNews via a statement that they “shall implement changes” to government-issued identification so that it details the holder’s biological sex.
“The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall implement changes to require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex, as defined under section 2 of this order; and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall ensure that applicable personnel records accurately report Federal employees’ sex, as defined by section 2 of this order,” the statement read.
The Williams Institute at UCLA’s School of Law estimated that around 16,700 non-binary people requested a passport using an X gender marker each year. This represents 1.4 per cent of the non-binary population in the US, which the institute estimates is around 1.2 million adults in the country.
Despite the “X” marker being hailed for allowing non-binary Americans to “live with greater dignity and respect”, travel news organisation Skift noted that some trans and non-binary people were reluctant to select the marker on their ID. This is due to fear of discrimination upon travel, or worries around booking tickets with some airlines.
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