In the United States, the “neutral” gender now possible on all passports

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To have your identity document changed in the United States and change, for example, from the female gender assigned at birth to the neutral gender, you just have to check the box “X” which has appeared since Monday, April 11 on all forms. No medical or psychological justification is required. “Transgender people are among the bravest in our country, the White House said in a statement. But no one should be brave just to be themselves.”

Until now, 21 American states and the capital Washington already offered this possibility for driving licenses, but this is the first time that the country has imposed it for passports at the federal level. It was a promise made in the fall by the Biden administration. The State Department had already revealed, in October 2021, that it had exceptionally issued the first American passport with an “X” under the word “sex”.

According to a study by the Williams Institute, a think tank from the University of California, which works on public policy in favor of LGBTQ+, approximately 1.2 million people define themselves as non-binary in the United States, born male or female but who identify with neither. the other. According to United Nations statistics, between 0.05% and 1.7% of the world’s population is intersex. However, not everyone should rush to have their passport changed.

the think tank estimates that there will be just over 16,000 applications for the first year. The question remains a divisive subject, like all questions of gender and identity.

In some conservative states, the regulations are very restrictive and unfavorable to transgender or intersex people. In Alabama, for example, doctors are not allowed to prescribe hormones to minors to help them with their sex change, it’s illegal. For the same reason in Texas, investigations have been opened against parents this time, because a directive from the governor equates hormone treatments with “bad treatments” punished by law.

The school is not spared: in Florida, we do not discuss sexuality and gender identity, it is prohibited. In Tennessee, transgender students do not participate in sports classes. “administration [fédérale] condemns the proliferation of dangerous legislative attacks”, says the White House press release, which provides for other initiatives to facilitate administrative procedures for transgender people and the creation of a website on gender transition, for young people and their parents.

Other countries in the world have implemented neutral gender in official documents: Australia, the pioneer, did so in 2011, followed by Argentina (2012), India (2014), New Zealand (2015) and Canada, where since 2018 the administration also asks its staff to no longer employ ex officio nor “Sir“, neither “Mrs.” neither “Miss” but to ask users what they want to be named. A sentence of the national anthem has even been slightly modified to be more inclusive.

Germany, the first country in Europe to embark on this path, has, for its part, decided to remove all mention of sex from national identity cards. The Netherlands want to do the same within three years at the latest. For passports, on the other hand, it remains compulsory throughout the European Union.


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