US promises to add gender-neutral option on passports

The United States said Wednesday it would add a third gender option on US passports for people who do not define as male or female, in a victory for non-binary and intersex Americans. Wednesday’s announcement adds the United States to a growing number of countries offering a third - or “X” - option on passports, including Canada, Germany, Australia and India. The State Department also said that Americans would no longer need to provide medical certification if they wanted to change the gender on their passport. It did not say when the new “X” gender marker would be available, only that it was in the process of “evaluating the best approach to achieve this goal”. “With this action, I express our enduring commitment to the LGBTQI+ community today and moving forward,” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.<br/>