In order to respect and reflect the “lived reality” for many, the first-ever US passport marked with “X” as the gender has been issued. The new gender designation option will hopefully give non-binary, intersex and gender-nonconforming individuals the opportunity to “live with greater dignity and respect,” says Jessica Stern, US special diplomatic envoy for LGBTQ rights. Colorado navy veteran Dana Zzyym—who has been campaigning for a passport that doesn’t designate them as male or female since 2015—was the recipient of the passport. Zzyym says, “I almost burst into tears when I opened the envelope, pulled out my new passport, and saw the ‘X’ stamped boldly under ‘sex.’ I’m also ecstatic that other intersex and non-binary US citizens will soon be able to apply for passports with the correct gender marker. It took six years, but to have an accurate passport, one that doesn’t force me to identify as male or female but recognizes I am neither, is liberating.” Read more at Pink News.
Image courtesy of Lambda Legal