Passports as a Power Play

Photo from pinterest.com

Following the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, a series of changes are underway. The executive orders signed by the President have taken precedence in recent weeks. A steady stream of adjustments have occurred about these executive orders, one of which pertains to passport identification.

Executive Order 13988 

On Jan. 20, 2021, former President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 13988. This order, titled, “Preventing and Combating Discrimination based on Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation” ensured protection against citizens who were discriminated against due to their gender identity or sexual orientation. On Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump rescinded this order within the first few hours of his presidency.

The rescinding of this order contributes to the recent actions put in place by the Department of State, ensuring that all passport applications that are not marked with “Male” or “Female” sex markers are frozen, neither accepted nor denied. According to an article published by Time Magazine, federal agencies and employees will no longer be allowed to use the term “gender” and rather only use the word “sex” throughout applicable policies and documents.

Photo from pinterest.com
A Pause on X Markers

Marco Rubio, the new Secretary of State, ordered the Department of State to put a pause on all passport applications where sex markers are labeled as “X.” This act follows the rescindment of Executive Order 13988 and approval of the policy that the US government is to “recognize two sexes, male and female” which are not “changeable.”

Now, not only are these applications frozen, but passports are only issued if the sex marker is labeled as “Male” or “Female.” The symbol “X,” which was often used by non-binary or trans people is, at the moment no longer recognized. Not only are applications labeled with the “X” sex marker paused, but also those that are changing sex markers. If an applicant’s passport initially had the sex marker labeled as “Female” but they wished to change it to “Male,” their application is also frozen.

Photo from pinterest.com
What this Entails

This new executive order titled, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” is working towards ensuring that all government-issued identification can only be labeled as “Female” or “Male.”

Guidance regarding previously issued X sex marker passports is forthcoming. 

U.S. Government Spokesperson

The implications of this order reach outside of identification. The way gender and sex are understood in society as two different terms, gender as a social construct and sex as an anatomical understanding, is predicted to change greatly. 

While less than 1% of the U.S. population is transgender, many other legislations, laws and bills have been put in place greatly affecting the experiences of these individuals.

Anti-trans laws have led suicide attempts among trans and nonbinary youth ages 13 to 17 to increase between 7-72%.

According to research issued by the Nature Human Behavior journal.

Stay up to date with VALLEY on Instagram and X on @Valleymag.

Related

President Trump’s first day in office

Anti-Trans Legislation: A Continuing and Worsening Issue

Trump Faces a Civil Fraud Lawsuit

1 Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.