The United States issues the first passport with an "X" gender mark

 

The United States issues the first passport with an "X" gender mark

The United States issued its first passport with an "X" gender marking the rights of people who do not like to identify their gender as male or female, the State Department said Wednesday.

The department has not identified the recipient of the passport. Still, an intersex person from Colorado has been in a legal battle with the government since 2015 over a passport he said had been received. A department official, citing privacy rules, refused to confirm whether the passport went to Dana Zazim (pronounced Zim).

"I'm not a problem. I'm human. That's the point," Zazim said.

US special diplomatic envoy for LGBT rights, Jessica Stern, said the decision brings government documents a broader spectrum of human gender characteristics reflected in the two previous appointments.

 Zzyym is a male but later identified as intersex while working and studying at Colorado State University. The State Department's refusal of Zzyym's passport prevented Zzyym from traveling to attend an Intersex International meeting in Mexico.

In June, the department said that it was moving toward adding a third gender label for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming people, but it would take time due to required updates to its computer systems. Additionally, a ministry official said the passport application and system update with the "X" designation option, which signs all government forms.