Transgender actress Hunter Schafer expressed her disappointment over the gender marker on her passport which designated her as male on a TikTok video she posted last February 22.
Schafer’s experience was a direct result of a same-day executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump stating that the federal government will only recognize two sexes assigned at birth, male and female. This immediately took effect the moment Trump assumed his position back at the White House last January 20.
Schafer initially refused to believe that Trump will actually solidify such measures “because our President is a lot of talk. [I was] like I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said. Unfortunately, Trump’s Anti-Trans Order was one of his priorities to set in motion right after he formally assumed the Presidency.
@csbvkjbvjkbkjjvkfsjkposted/deleted this last night because i wanted to make a more concise/well spoken thing but it’s out in the world! so putting it back heree♬ original sound – Hunter Schafer
“I’m not making this post to fear monger, or to create drama or receive consolation. I don’t need it. But, I do think it’s worth posting to sort of note the reality of the situation and that it is actually happening and I was shocked,” the Euphoria actress said.
Schafer shared that it has been a decade since she changed her gender marker to female across her government-issued IDs. She explained that this change was prompted by a robbery during an overseas trip, which resulted in the loss of her passport. Upon returning to the U.S., she had to apply for a new passport and went through the standard process—including selecting her female gender marker.
Upon receiving her new passport, she was greeted by disappointment, when her gender was switched back to male. She alleged that under Trump’s order, agencies are perhaps cross-referencing the birth certificates of applicants.
“I’m kinda scared of the way this stuff slowly gets implemented […] I think as we’ve seen in historical rises of fascism everything this new administration kind of represents,” Schafer said.
During the term of former U.S. President Joe Biden, specifically in 2022, citizens were given the option to self-select the gender marker on their passports including an X marker. Applicants are free to do so even without supporting medical documents and choose whether their gender does not match the sex stated on their identity documents.
But, now, even the X marker has been revoked on such legal documents. As such, Schafer could not help but worry how these new circumstances will affect her especially when traveling overseas, “I’m pretty sure it’s gonna come along with having to out myself to border patrol agents.” As simple as a letter “M” may seem on paper, this new provision further added weight to the plight of transgender individuals like Schafer.
However, the actress also took the time to ponder upon her privileges, all the while battling this new dilemma, “I wanna acknowledge my privilege, not only as a famous celebrity transwoman who is white, thin, and can adhere to contemporary beauty standards.”
She then ended the video on a positive note and affirmed the trans community, “Trans people are beautiful, we are never going to stop existing […] a letter and a passport can’t change that.”
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