Washington: The United States has issued its first passport with the appointment of gender “X”, marking a milestone in recognizing the rights of people who do not identify as men or women, and hope to offer the next option of the year, the State Department said Wednesday.
The department does not identify passport recipients, but intersex people from Colorado who have been in legal battle with the government since 2015 to get a passport said someone was accepted.
A department official, quoting the privacy rules, refusing to confirm whether the passport goes to ZZYYM funds (pronounced ZIMM).
ZZYYM said the struggle for passports with accurate gender designation is a way to help the next generation of intersex people win recognition as citizens full of rights.
“I’m not a problem.
I am human.
That’s the point,” Zzyym said.
US specialized diplomatic messengers for LGBTQ rights, Jessica Stern, said the decision brought government documents in line with the “life reality” that there was a broader spectrum of human sex characteristics than those reflected in the two previous designations.
“When someone gets an identity document that reflects their true identity, they live with greater dignity and respect,” Stern said.
ZZYYM is rejected by a passport for failing to examine men or women in an application.
According to court documents, ZZYYM writes “INTERSEX” above the box marking “M” and “F” and request a gender marker “X” instead in separate letters.
ZZYYM was born with ambiguous physical sexual characteristics but was raised as a boy and had several operations that failed to make ZZYYM emerge fully men, according to the submission of the court.
ZZYYM served in the Navy as a man but then came to identify as intersex while working and studying at Colorado State University.
The rejection of the Department of Foreign Affairs Passport Zzyym prevents Zzyym from being able to travel to the Intersex International Organization Meeting in Mexico.
The department said in June that he moved to increase the third gender marker for non-wire, intersex and gender people who were not suitable but it would take time because the updates needed for the computer system.
In addition, a department official said the passport application and system update with the appointment option “X” was still awaiting approval from the Office of Management and Budget, which signed in all forms of government.
This department now also allow applicants to choose their own sex as men or women, no longer require them to provide medical certification if their gender does not match other identification documents.
The United States joins a handful of countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Nepal and Canada, in allowing their citizens to point gender than men or women on passports.
Stern said his office plans to talk about US experiences with changes in interactions throughout the world and hope that might help inspire other governments to offer choices.
“We see this as a way to assert and raise trans and intersex and gender human rights – not in accordance with people everywhere,” he said.