The United States on Wednesday announced its first passport with “X” for gender, a landmark step for people outside the binary male or female categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The State Department said it had issued a first passport with “X” for gender and would make the option routinely available by early 2022 both for passports and birth certificates of Americans abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I want to reiterate, on the occasion of this passport issuance, the Department of State’s commitment to promoting the freedom, dignity, and equality of all people — including LGBTQI+ persons,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had promised to address the issue in June but said that there were technological hurdles that needed to be addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under Blinken, the State Department has also allowed US passport holders to select their gender on passports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Previously, Americans required medical certification if they sought to mark a gender on their passports different than on their birth certificates or other documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At least 11 other countries already have an “X” or “other” option for passports, according to the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion, a London-based advocacy group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The countries include Canada, Germany and Argentina as well as India, Nepal and Pakistan, a legacy of South Asia’s historic concept of “hijra” intersex or transgender people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The State Department made the announcement on the week of Intersex Awareness Day as it vowed to support people who face discrimination over their gender identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Joe Biden has promised to make advocacy of LGBTQ rights a top priority of his administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is a major shift from the previous administration of Donald Trump, during which Blinken’s predecessor Mike Pompeo barred US embassies from flying rainbow Pride flags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n