After A Long Battle Against The State Department, Dana Zzyym Became The First Non-Binary American To Receive A Passport Denoting Their Gender As “X”
by Heather Cassell
Dana Zzyym proudly became the first intersex American to receive a passport with the gender marker “X” last month, making the US the 16th country in the world to issue a gender variant passport.
Dana is the only person in the US to have their gender marked as “X” on their passport.
“I almost burst into tears when I opened the envelope, pulled out my new passport, and saw the ‘X’ stamped boldly under ‘sex,’” said Dana, a 63-year-old non-binary US Navy veteran who uses they/them pronouns, in an October 27 statement from Lambda Legal.
Lambda Legal is the LGBTQI advocacy and litigation organization that represented Dana’s case against the state department.
The Colorado resident filed a federal lawsuit against the United States State Department after their passport application with a gender “X” marker was denied in 2015.
Dana, who is associate director of Intersex Campaign for Equality, wanted the gender marker to reflect their gender more accurately on their passport.
Intersex people are born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not fit with “female” or “male” bodies. It is still legal for parents and guardians in the US to opt for gender correction surgeries for intersex babies at birth.
Liberated
“It took six years, but to have an accurate passport, one that doesn’t force me to identify as male or female but recognizes I am neither, is liberating,” said Dana about receiving their new passport with the sex marker clearly marked, “X,” last week.
Lambda Legal Counsel Paul D. Castillo called the event “a momentous day,” and that he could not be “more delighted” for Dana in the statement.
“This is a momentous day, and its significance cannot be understated,” Paul said noting it took bringing a case against the state department, a half a dozen years, and three favorable court rulings to come to this moment.
Paul praised Dana’s “incredible courage and perseverance throughout the case,” he said.
Dignity and Respect
Jessica Stern, US special envoy to advance the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons, announced the news during a press conference with The Associated Press and the Washington Blade on October 26.
“Offering a third gender marker is a significant step towards ensuring that our administrative systems account for the diversity of gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics,” Jessica, former executive director of OutRight Action International, said during the call, reported the Blade. “People do not always fit within a male or a female designation, it doesn’t benefit anyone to have inconsistencies between people and systems.
“When a person obtains identity documents that reflect their true identity, they live with greater dignity and respect,” Jessica continued noting passports that more accurately reflect a person’s gender identity will keep people safer.
She hopes that the gender “X” marker will reduce the “likelihood of dehumanizing harassment and mistreatment that so often happens at border crossings when a person’s legal documentation does not correspond with their gender expression,” she said.
The announcement came two days before State Department Spokesperson Ned Price announced the first US passport with a gender X marker was issued on October 28.
It also came a day after the state department publicly acknowledged Intersex Awareness Day, October 26.
Intersex Awareness Day commemorates the world’s first-ever intersex rights protest that took place in Boston in 1996.
Adding a gender “X” option to US passport applications and documents fulfills one of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and President Joe Biden’s promises to the LGBTQI community.
OutRight Acting Executive Director Maria Sjödin applauded the state department and “encouraged other countries to follow suit.”
Maria, formerly OutRight’s deputy executive officer, succeeded Jessica leading the 31-year-old global LGBTQ rights organization in September.
“Trans, intersex and non-binary people face a myriad of discrimination and access barriers, as well as harassment and degrading treatment, when the gender marker in their documentation does not correspond with the norms associated with their gender expression,” Maria, a nonbinary lesbian, explained in an October 27 statement from the organization.
“Offering a non-binary gender marker is not revolutionary – it is simply a reflection of reality which will enable people who do not identify as male or female to be recognized as their true selves,” Maria said.
Open For All
Jessica and Ned stated non-binary travelers will be able to obtain a passport with the gender “X” marker sometime in early 2022.
The state department is waiting for the US Office of Management and Budget to approve “the required form updates,” Jessica said.
“We look forward to offering this option to all routine passport applicants,” Ned said in the October 27 statement from the department.
He directed people to watch for updates at travel.state.gov/gender.
“I’m also ecstatic that other intersex and nonbinary US citizens will soon be able to apply for passports with the correct gender marker,” Dana said.
Paul expressed happiness for Dana and other gender-nonconforming Americans.
“We couldn’t be more delighted, both for Dana and, as important, for all intersex, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming United States’ passport applicants who will soon have access to the accurate passports they need,” he said.
The state department reiterated that it continues to work closely with “other US government agencies to ensure as smooth a travel experience as possible for all passport holders, regardless of their gender identity.”
In the six years since Dana launched their battle, 15 countries and major airlines around the world from the US to Asia to the United Kingdom have recognized gender non-conforming individuals in their policies and services.
The US joins Argentina, Austria, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, India, and Nepal providing gender neutral options on official identification documents including driver’s licenses.
Prior to the state department’s issuing its first passport denoting the gender “X” marker, 20 states in the US recognized gender “X” markers.
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