The Biden Administration Encourages X Gender Markers on Passports

The ACLU said+ advocates have been in talks with the Biden administration about adding “X” gender markers to all federal documents, including passports and social security cards, by executive action. The inclusion of a third gender marker would be a huge move to allow non-binary, gender non-conforming and intersex people to get gender-neutral federal IDs that reflect their identity.

Matt Hill, a White House spokesperson, told The 19th that there was no timeline on the rollout or further comment on how the policy might be implemented. But Hill said president Biden remains committed to issuing gender-neutral IDs, which he promised to do during his presidential election campaign.

In a statement, Hill said: “President Biden remains committed to advancing state and federal efforts that allow transgender and non-binary Americans to update their identification documents to accurately reflect their gender identity, especially as transgender and non-binary people continue to face harassment or are denied access to services because their identification documents don’t affirm their identity.”

Arli Christian, a campaign strategist at the ACLU, called on the administration to issue “X” gender neutral markers across all federal documents within Biden’s first 100 days. Christian told The 19th: “It cuts across so many areas of discrimination against trans people whether we’re talking about being respected in school, safety, employment, housing.”

An ACLU campaign for more inclusive federal IDs has reached almost 34,000 signatures. The campaign also called for self-attestation of gender markers on federal IDs, “meaning you can affirm your own gender identity without needing medical verification”.

Currently, an applicant must submit a letter from a medical doctor attesting to appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition if they wish to update a gender marker on their federal IDs or records.