Navy veteran becomes first American to receive gender ‘X’ passport

A U.S. Navy veteran who identifies as intersex made history Wednesday after becoming the nation’s first person to receive a gender “X” passport.

Dana Zzyym, a 63-year-old born as a male who now who goes by the pronouns they/them, received their U.S. passport with the gender “X” marker, issued by the State Department, the Daily Mail reported. Zzyym initially filed for the gender-change option to be on their passport in 2015, writing “X” on the application instead of marking in boxes “M” for male or “F” for female.

“I almost burst into tears when I opened the envelope, pulled out my new passport, and saw the ‘X’ stamped boldly under ‘sex'” Zzyym said, according to a press release obtained by the Washington Examiner.

“I’m so ecstatic that other intersex and nonbinary U.S. citizens will soon be able to apply for passports with the correct gender marker,” Zzyym added in the statement. Zzyym explained that it may have taken “six years” but it is “liberating” to her to have a passport that correctly marks how she identifies.

EXCLUSIVE: STATE DEPARTMENT TO ALLOW PASSPORT APPLICANTS TO SELECT GENDER WITHOUT MEDICAL DOCUMENTATION

Zzyym, who works as an associate director for the Intersex Campaign for Equality, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. State Department in October 2015 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. They had been denied a U.S. passport due to not indicating whether they identified as a male or female, according to the statement.

Due to not having a “valid passport” Zzyym missed several intersex conferences to which they had been invited, according to the statement.

State Department Spokesman Ned Price confirmed in an announcement Wednesday that the agency had issued the first passport with a gender “X” marker.

“The Department of State continues the process of updating its policies regarding gender markers on U.S. passports and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBAs) to better serve all U.S. citizens, regardless of their gender identity,” Price said in the statement.

By 2022, the gender “X” marker will be a permanent option for people to pick from, according to the statement from the State Department.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Washington, D.C., announced in June 2017 that it would begin to allow drivers to pick a gender “X” marker on their identification documents. The District of Columbia said it was the first jurisdiction in the nation to allow this option on both licenses and identification cards.