State Department issues first passport with 'X' gender marker

The State Department has issued its first passport with an “X” gender marker.

The State Department said Wednesday that the “X” gender marker denotes that someone is neither exclusively male nor female.

According to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law and interACT, an intersex advocacy group, there are 1.2 million nonbinary and 4 million intersex Americans.

The State Department said that it would begin offering the “X” gender marker option to “routine passport applicants” in 2022.

“Offering a third gender marker is a significant step towards ensuring that our administrative systems account for the diversity of gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics,” said Jessica Stern, the special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBT rights abroad. “Because people do not always fit within a male or a female designation, it doesn't benefit anyone to have inconsistencies between people and systems.”

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, applauded the upcoming change.

“Official documents that reflect an individual's true identity are essential to allowing them to lead dignified lives,” JoDee Winterhof, HRC senior vice president of policy and political affairs, said in a statement. “The Human Rights Campaign commends the U.S Department of State for issuing the first U.S. Passport with a non-binary gender marker, a historic move that will mitigate the risk of discrimination, harassment and violence faced by millions of nonbinary, intersex, and gender non-conforming Americans who travel abroad.”

“The United States must encourage other governments around the world to follow suit in adopting inclusive policies that recognize and affirm non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming people,” Winterhof added.

Only a handful of counties issue gender-neutral passports; Canada, Australia, and Argentina are among them.