Starting on April 11, a new option will be provided to U.S. citizens obtaining a passport. Now instead of answering male or female under gender, there will be a gender-neutral "X" option, according to the State Department.
The State Department made the announcement of the updated passports on Wednesday, a day before Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31.
Jessica Stern, the U.S. special diplomatic envoy for LGBTQ+ rights, spoke about the update during a news conference on Wednesday.
Stern called the addition of the X gender marker on U.S. passports a "momentous step" for LGBTQ citizens.
"The addition of a third gender marker propels the U.S. forward toward ensuring that our administrative systems account for the diversity of gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics among U.S. citizens," Stern said. "The issuance of X gender markers on U.S. passports does not create new definitions nor rights."
According to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law and interACT, there are an estimated 1.2 million people who identify as nonbinary and 4 million who identify as intersex, those who are neither exclusively male nor female.
The State Department announced the original plan to add the third gender-neutral option in June, but it didn't say when the change would be available.
Now with the option available Stern and others are praising the decision as she says people "do not always fit within a male or female category around the world."
"The lived realities of transgender, intersex, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming persons reflect that there is a wider spectrum of humanity than is represented by a binary sex designation on passports," Stern said.
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The State Department's principal deputy assistant secretary Douglass Benning said that those who choose to select gender X will not need to provide documentation. This is significant as 14 states in the U.S. require proof of genital surgery to update their gender on a birth certificate.
Along with the addition of the gender marker, the Transportation Security Administration announced at the news conference Wednesday that it will be rolling out new gender-neutral screening processes.
Jose Bonilla, the TSA's Inclusion Action Committee chair, shared that a new algorithm is being developed with its manufacturing partners for advanced imaging technology body scanners. The scanners will reportedly enhance security and enable officers to provide gender-neutral screening.
The U.S. will now join the likes of Australia, Germany, India, Nepal, Canada, and New Zealand in allowing citizens to choose another option beyond male or female on their passports.
Officials shared that giving citizens this option is a meaningful step in creating a more inclusive environment for those who did not feel they fit in before.
"This policy change recognizes the true identity of the passport holder," Stern said.
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