Interestingly, the State Department is not the only agency that can issue travel documents valid for international travel. For example, NYS issues enhanced drivers licenses which gets you to Canada and Mexico (via land or sea), at least.
I didn't have any trouble when I changed my name and gender marker on this document.
But what side of the border do you want to be on if that happens? If you wait too long...
I'm in Canada right now, trying to decide if I should go back to the states. I'm scared, and that's why I came here to see what it could be like. It's wonderful, in the way that I just blend and no one thinks anything "extra" about my presence.
But my whole life is in the states, and it's a long pathway to a job permit... Such hard decisions! 😭
amazing article thank you so much for this <3 seeing how they changed that wording is so scary. I got my gender marker updated and helped so many people do so as well and now I'm scared we're all gonna get our shit revoked
I'm so sorry. It's such an awful time right now. I'm glad you have a community and that you've been able to support them and I hope you get that support back two fold. 💜 Sending big hugs to you
We don’t need gender markers at all. Who cares? Just remove them. No lawsuits, a simple programming change. And we never have to hear about gender markers again.
Setting aside emotion for a moment (because this is terrifying and making me spiral) - where in the US is the safest if this happens? Specifically, what state has shown that they will protect us or offer us more rights than others should we no longer be protected at a federal level?
Without a doubt, the best states are California, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Colorado, Oregon, New Jersey, Virginia (after January), and Minnesota (though note Minnesota is not as blue as the rest of these but their laws are fantastic). That said, all other blue states are also super safe.
ICE. ICE. Consider: You are stopped and asked to give ID. “You’re a citizen huh, well this document here doesn’t match your birth sex (they clock you, or state drivers license & passport sexes are mismatched, or u gender nonconform)
—“so this doesn’t prove citizenship or anything for that matter. In fact, we’re detaining you under suspicion ofattempting to misrepresent your identity to law enforcement. Until we..sort this out.”
Then they book you under your deadname, changed years ago, so your fam or lawyer are unaware & asking for the wrong person,
Regardless they’re already losing people in the system (aka disappearing hundreds/thousands)
Then they move / traffick you around outta the state outta the country or eventually to the desert outside one of those new gigantic concentration camps they’re building for the homeless ppl and other “mentally ill dangers to themselves and society”
ICE ALREADY DISREGARDS DUE PROCESS. If yr poor, nonwhite, poor English, no fam or legal support system to FIGHT to keep track of you,
..u just kinda…well, who really knows?
That’s what this looks like. They’re already doing this to trans detainees.
I requested representation from the ACLU on a case against the State Department over their passport decision. The basis for my case is a 1st Amendment right violation. What is essentially happening is compelled language and infringement on our identity. Gender identity isn’t just a box on a form, it’s expressive conduct. Courts have long held that the First Amendment protects how we present and define ourselves
You write fantasy and by the looks of it use AI for the covers, and you’re really lecturing me over “there being no such thing as trans?” You know what’s real: me, my life, and other trans people and their lives. You know what isn’t? Whatever you’re coming up with in your head. Including what you just said.
You've happened upon one of my areas of expertise. In fact, only around 10 states put trans women into men's prisons, and I say around because the policies in some states are relatively unclear. The other 40 don't.
And to your overarching point, I'm a woman. Everyone around me sees a woman and my birth certificate says female. My mind doesn't have to tell me anything. I know what I am. But what do you care who I am? Who wins from your comment here? Why do it?
I know, I know, I shouldn't feed the trolls, but somedays I just can't /help/ myself.
If we're playing the definition game, neither. You want to discount the clear language of transgender woman or transgender man? Fine; I discount your language of trans-identifying male or trans-identifying female. It's all a forced choice trying to lean in to your perception of biological essentialism, which is itself, at best, bad science and at worst willful ignorance in pursuit of a predetermined agenda.
I assume you know that many of those so-called "corrupt doctors" are the same people that will keep your genitalia functioning if you have a tragic bb gun accident or the like, right? The same doctors that assist people in reconstructing their self-image and self-worth after a third degree burn? The same doctors that restore women "mutilated" to protect them from breast cancer? We should /definitely/ make sure to villify them and drive them out of practice.
Gender absolutely is mental. And it's social; and heck, it's the mind interpreting the social feedback it is receiving and modulating it's presentation to the world in an effort to bring congruence to inner and outer experiences. Sex is also mental, as well as biological - which can be further subdivided into chromosomal, gonadal, hormonal, reproductive capability, phenotypical presentation, just for a start. (And all of those areas can differ from each other, by-the-by.) I don't even know what you mean by "the mind fooling your body," but if my body were fooled - would it not conform itself to my mental representation of it? On the contrary, the body is clearly discomfiting the mind, not the reverse. Which is, incidentally, why the only effective treatment we have ever found is to correct the body to match the mind - because we can't actually change the mind to match to body. Any more than we can convince a cisgender or cissexual person they "really" are another gender or sex.
Prisons? Hah. You can't post hoc ergo propter hoc with a straight face. All your argument proves is that the people in charge of throwing people in jail don't respect the existence of transgender people. This is no way denies (or confirms; it actually says nothing at all about) their actual existence.
Not sure why it matters that the scientist you are quoting is female, unless you're trying to score points for being "not a cishetmisogynist" - in which case, fail - or you just can't remember and couldn't be arsed to look up your own citation.
My brain is telling me you are an idiot. And perhaps I am, as well, for answering you.
My bigger fear is that they’ll revoke without reissuing. Without a valid passport you can’t leave.
I know, it's not a fun thing to think about...it's really scary that they're even considering it.
Interestingly, the State Department is not the only agency that can issue travel documents valid for international travel. For example, NYS issues enhanced drivers licenses which gets you to Canada and Mexico (via land or sea), at least.
I didn't have any trouble when I changed my name and gender marker on this document.
I hope if that starts happening then Canada or Mexico will start accepting us as refugees.
But what side of the border do you want to be on if that happens? If you wait too long...
I'm in Canada right now, trying to decide if I should go back to the states. I'm scared, and that's why I came here to see what it could be like. It's wonderful, in the way that I just blend and no one thinks anything "extra" about my presence.
But my whole life is in the states, and it's a long pathway to a job permit... Such hard decisions! 😭
This basically institutes a travel ban on us. We won’t be able to leave.
This admin disgusts me. Why can’t people who are trans simply exist in this country? Makes me quite livid.
amazing article thank you so much for this <3 seeing how they changed that wording is so scary. I got my gender marker updated and helped so many people do so as well and now I'm scared we're all gonna get our shit revoked
I'm so sorry. It's such an awful time right now. I'm glad you have a community and that you've been able to support them and I hope you get that support back two fold. 💜 Sending big hugs to you
Sending love and hugs as well. You did the right thing and that counts much more than these cruel actions.
Great deep research. This is just such a big moral failing on the part of the Administration. Cruelty for the sake of cruelty.
We don’t need gender markers at all. Who cares? Just remove them. No lawsuits, a simple programming change. And we never have to hear about gender markers again.
Setting aside emotion for a moment (because this is terrifying and making me spiral) - where in the US is the safest if this happens? Specifically, what state has shown that they will protect us or offer us more rights than others should we no longer be protected at a federal level?
Without a doubt, the best states are California, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Colorado, Oregon, New Jersey, Virginia (after January), and Minnesota (though note Minnesota is not as blue as the rest of these but their laws are fantastic). That said, all other blue states are also super safe.
Thank you, this is super helpful and I appreciate you!
Thank you, this is super helpful and I appreciate you!
ICE. ICE. Consider: You are stopped and asked to give ID. “You’re a citizen huh, well this document here doesn’t match your birth sex (they clock you, or state drivers license & passport sexes are mismatched, or u gender nonconform)
—“so this doesn’t prove citizenship or anything for that matter. In fact, we’re detaining you under suspicion ofattempting to misrepresent your identity to law enforcement. Until we..sort this out.”
Then they book you under your deadname, changed years ago, so your fam or lawyer are unaware & asking for the wrong person,
Regardless they’re already losing people in the system (aka disappearing hundreds/thousands)
Then they move / traffick you around outta the state outta the country or eventually to the desert outside one of those new gigantic concentration camps they’re building for the homeless ppl and other “mentally ill dangers to themselves and society”
ICE ALREADY DISREGARDS DUE PROCESS. If yr poor, nonwhite, poor English, no fam or legal support system to FIGHT to keep track of you,
..u just kinda…well, who really knows?
That’s what this looks like. They’re already doing this to trans detainees.
Soon the net widens.
I requested representation from the ACLU on a case against the State Department over their passport decision. The basis for my case is a 1st Amendment right violation. What is essentially happening is compelled language and infringement on our identity. Gender identity isn’t just a box on a form, it’s expressive conduct. Courts have long held that the First Amendment protects how we present and define ourselves
the state department page has been changed again as of nov 17 https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/passport-help/sex-marker.html
I'm aware. I actually published an article on that around noon. Thank you for informing me though!
Well and they won’t revoke the passports. They’ll just reissue with the wrong gender. It’s still fucked up of course.
Clair here 🙁 The die is cast.. to be scientific ..Your Fucked by the fickled finger of fate
💕
You write fantasy and by the looks of it use AI for the covers, and you’re really lecturing me over “there being no such thing as trans?” You know what’s real: me, my life, and other trans people and their lives. You know what isn’t? Whatever you’re coming up with in your head. Including what you just said.
You've happened upon one of my areas of expertise. In fact, only around 10 states put trans women into men's prisons, and I say around because the policies in some states are relatively unclear. The other 40 don't.
And to your overarching point, I'm a woman. Everyone around me sees a woman and my birth certificate says female. My mind doesn't have to tell me anything. I know what I am. But what do you care who I am? Who wins from your comment here? Why do it?
I know, I know, I shouldn't feed the trolls, but somedays I just can't /help/ myself.
If we're playing the definition game, neither. You want to discount the clear language of transgender woman or transgender man? Fine; I discount your language of trans-identifying male or trans-identifying female. It's all a forced choice trying to lean in to your perception of biological essentialism, which is itself, at best, bad science and at worst willful ignorance in pursuit of a predetermined agenda.
I assume you know that many of those so-called "corrupt doctors" are the same people that will keep your genitalia functioning if you have a tragic bb gun accident or the like, right? The same doctors that assist people in reconstructing their self-image and self-worth after a third degree burn? The same doctors that restore women "mutilated" to protect them from breast cancer? We should /definitely/ make sure to villify them and drive them out of practice.
Gender absolutely is mental. And it's social; and heck, it's the mind interpreting the social feedback it is receiving and modulating it's presentation to the world in an effort to bring congruence to inner and outer experiences. Sex is also mental, as well as biological - which can be further subdivided into chromosomal, gonadal, hormonal, reproductive capability, phenotypical presentation, just for a start. (And all of those areas can differ from each other, by-the-by.) I don't even know what you mean by "the mind fooling your body," but if my body were fooled - would it not conform itself to my mental representation of it? On the contrary, the body is clearly discomfiting the mind, not the reverse. Which is, incidentally, why the only effective treatment we have ever found is to correct the body to match the mind - because we can't actually change the mind to match to body. Any more than we can convince a cisgender or cissexual person they "really" are another gender or sex.
Prisons? Hah. You can't post hoc ergo propter hoc with a straight face. All your argument proves is that the people in charge of throwing people in jail don't respect the existence of transgender people. This is no way denies (or confirms; it actually says nothing at all about) their actual existence.
Not sure why it matters that the scientist you are quoting is female, unless you're trying to score points for being "not a cishetmisogynist" - in which case, fail - or you just can't remember and couldn't be arsed to look up your own citation.
My brain is telling me you are an idiot. And perhaps I am, as well, for answering you.