State Dept.'s New 'X' Passports: 'Gender Ideology Has Infiltrated the Highest Levels of the Federal Government'

The State Department has issued its first passport with an "X" designation for the passport holder's gender. The recipient: Dana Zzyym, an intersex activist from Colorado. 

It's part of a new policy that allows anyone to change the gender on their passport with no medical certification required. The three choices: male, female or "X." The "X" designation is designed for people who identify as transgender or intersex--those born with both male and female characteristics.

The State Department emphasizes that passport holders can self-select their gender as part of its overall goal to promote human rights for people who identify as LGBTQI+.

The historic move shows the full force of the transgender movement. "Irreversible Damage" author Abigail Shrier calls it "one of the clearest indications that gender ideology has infiltrated the highest levels of the federal government."

The State Department plans to push other governments to offer new gender options, a move that transgender activists applaud.

"I am hoping that this will as soon as possible become routine," said Maria Sjodin, executive director of OutRight Action International, "so that anyone who wants can just access an X in their passport in the US and around the world."

The change is a challenge for many who hold biblical beliefs about gender and sexuality. 

David Kubal, president of Intercessors for America, opposes the policy. "They're putting the stamp of human rights on people's thoughts on what is moral and it's actually immoral," he said.

At the same time, Republican-led states are pushing back against transgender activism.

This week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill requiring public school athletes to compete based on their biological sex. The new law follows the lead of similar legislation in Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, Montana, and Mississippi.

New research is also raising questions about transgender medicine. 

Dr. Lisa Littman has a study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, showing that the majority of those who have de-transitioned, that is, reversed their initial decision to change their gender identity, say they did not receive an adequate evaluation from a medical care provider before they initially transitioned.

Speaking on the Megyn Kelly Show she said it's heartbreaking what's happened to some of these patients. "These young people didn't get the evaluation, the support, the kind of mental health services that they needed and instead were really rushed to medical transition and surgery," she said.