The United States State Department has issued the first official passport with the gender designation "X," a change promised by the Biden administration earlier this year to make passports more inclusive for those who identify as nonbinary, intersex, or gender nonconforming.
According to State Department spokesperson Ned Price, the department would be able to give the option to all passport applicants once it completes modernising its systems and forms by early 2022.
Following a lawsuit filed by Dana Zzyym, an intersex and nonbinary Colorado citizen who claimed it was impossible to receive a passport with their correct gender because "female" and "male" were the only options, the department stated it will make the adjustment this year. In June, the agency also declared that if an applicant's gender choice does not match their gender on other documents, they will be able to select "M" or "F" as their gender without submitting any medical certification.
President Joe Biden has stated that LGBTQ rights will be a high focus for his administration. It's a significant change from Donald Trump's previous government, when Blinken's predecessor, Mike Pompeo, prohibited US embassies from displaying rainbow Pride flags.
