Hunter Schafer says passport lists sex as 'M' after Trump executive order
Social Sharing
American actress Hunter Schafer said she was "shocked" to find the gender marker on her passport listed as male, a forced change that comes after the Trump administration declared it would only recognize two genders.
Schafer, one of the most visible transgender actresses in Hollywood, said she picked up her new passport on Thursday to find the gender marker written as "M", despite her having listed female on her application.
"I was shocked. I was shocked. I don't know … I just didn't think it was actually going to happen," she said in an eight-minute TikTok, holding up her new passport.
"I just feel like it's important to share, it's not just talk [from the administration]. This is real and it's happening. No one, no matter their circumstance, no matter how wealthy or white or pretty or whatever … is excluded. This is real."
The new passport policy stems from one of U.S. Donald Trump's first executive orders after taking office in January.
WATCH | Transgender people in the U.S. say they're worried about what's to come:
Breaking down Trump's 'two genders' executive order
28 days ago
Duration 3:20
The order declared federal agencies will only recognize "two sexes, male and female," which "are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality." The order said passports and other forms of government-issued identification must reflect the sex assigned at birth.
It does not acknowledge intersex people, who are born with a combination of male and female traits and include an estimated 1.7 per cent of the population. It said the government would not recognize gender identity, or how someone identifies and represents themselves in society, on federal documents.
The website for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the agency that issues passports, said it will "only issue passports with an 'M' or 'F' sex marker that match the customer's biological sex at birth" and will no longer use the "X" marker for nonbinary people, citing Trump's order.
Schafer said her previous identification to date, including old passports, had listed "female" ever since she got her driver's licence as a teenager. She applied to renew her passport in Los Angeles after her old one was stolen while she was filming in Barcelona last year.
Schafer said she didn't post about her new passport on TikTok to receive consolation, citing her own privilege "as a celebrity trans woman" who is white and passing, meaning she is perceived as the gender with which she identifies. She said she wanted to prove to the public that the administration's order has taken effect and underscore the potential repercussions for other transgender people.
"I also want to say, I don't give a f--k that they put an M on my passport. It doesn't change really anything about me or my transness however, it does make life a little harder," said Schafer, who is best known for her role as Jules Vaughn in HBO's Euphoria.
WATCH | Queer rights lawyer explains what Trump's order might mean for Canada:
U.S. government will only recognize two sexes, Trump says. What does that mean for trans rights?
1 month ago
Duration 5:46
Personally, she said she will likely have to out herself to border patrol officers when she travels abroad. Seven transgender American citizens who sued Trump and the State Department in federal court this month said the order also exposes them to potential harassment or violence when they travel outside the United States.
The lawsuit filed in the District Court of Massachusetts claimed the new passport policy violates their constitutional rights by discriminating on the basis of sex and infringing on privacy.
The Trump administration has until mid-March to file a response in court.
Canadians who do not identify as female or male have been able to list their gender as "X" on their passports since 2019. About 3,600 Canadians have the marker on their passports, according to the federal government.
The Canadian government website warns people with gender-neutral passports that "you may face entry restrictions into some countries that do not recognize your gender."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
36 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Doug Ford returning to U.S. to fight Donald Trump's tariffs
Premier Doug Ford and his counterparts from the Atlantic provinces are headed stateside to promote trade with New England governors. Ford, who quietly met with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp last week at Queen's Park, has been stepping up the lobbying of U.S. leaders against President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods. 'You can keep tariffing everything, but it's hurting the American people,' the premier told a Toronto business conference last Monday. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW That's a reference to the fact that U.S. companies importing products from Canada are already passing along their higher costs to consumers. Ford also noted Ontario alone does $500 billion in annual two-way trade with the U.S., and the province is the largest trading partner with 17 of America's 50 states. 'I've had an opportunity to speak to many governors and senators and congresspeople — Republicans or Democrats … (and) every single person I speak to says we can't pick a fight with everyone in the world — and especially you can't pick a fight with your number-one customer,' he said. 'We need to move on.' Along with another wave of appearances on American cable news shows to underscore the importance of trade with Canada, the premier is moving to further strengthen ties with state governors. To that end, Ford, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier John Hogan and Prince Edward Island Premier Rob Lantz will be in Boston on Monday. The premiers will be meeting with Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont. During last winter's provincial election campaign, which the governing Progressive Conservatives successfully framed as a referendum on which party could best deal with Trump, Ford twice visited Washington, D.C., to lobby U.S. lawmakers. Politics Headlines Newsletter Get the latest news and unmatched insights in your inbox every evening Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Yes, I'd also like to receive customized content suggestions and promotional messages from the Star. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Politics Headlines Newsletter You're signed up! You'll start getting Politics Headlines in your inbox soon. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.
Winnipeg Free Press
37 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
The Army is set to celebrate 250 years with a parade that coincides with Trump's birthday
WASHINGTON (AP) — The massive military parade that President Donald Trump has long wanted is set to step off from the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday evening, with tanks, bands and thousands of troops. And the biggest question marks are whether it will be overshadowed or delayed by either the weather in Washington or planned protests elsewhere around the country. Falling on Trump's 79th birthday, the parade was added just a few weeks ago to the Army's long-planned 250th anniversary celebration. It has triggered criticism for its price tag of up to $45 million and the possibility that the lumbering tanks could tear up city streets. The Army has taken a variety of steps to protect the streets, including laying metal plates down along the route. The daylong display of America's Army comes as Trump has shown his willingness to use his fighting forces in ways other U.S. presidents have typically avoided, inviting an array of lawsuits and accusations that he is politicizing the military. He has deployed the California National Guard and U.S. Marines to provide security during Los Angeles protests tied to immigration raids. It marks the first time in 60 years that a president activated the National Guard on federal orders inside a state without a governor's permission, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom has filed a lawsuit to stop the deployments. Earlier in the week, Trump raised eyebrows during a speech at Fort Bragg when members of the 82nd Airborne Division were directed to stand behind Trump and they booed and cheered during his incendiary remarks, including condemnation of his predecessor, Joe Biden. There also was a pop-up 'Make America Great Again' merchandise stand nearby selling souvenirs to troops in uniform. The Defense Department has a doctrine that prohibits troops from participating in political activity while in uniform. Members of Congress and military leaders have expressed concerns about the political displays during the speech at Fort Bragg. Trump so far has shrugged off concerns about the parade cost, the rainy forecast and the potential for protests. 'What a day it will be!!!' Trump wrote on his social media site, adding later that he hoped the weather would cooperate but that if it doesn't, 'that brings you good luck. That's OK too. Doesn't matter. Doesn't affect the tanks at all. Doesn't affect the soldiers. They're used to it. They're tough. Smart.' As for the protests, he warned that 'they will be met with very big force.' The 'No Kings' rallies planned in hundreds of cities nationwide are meant to counter what organizers say are Trump's plans to feed his ego on his 79th birthday and Flag Day. No protests are scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., however, and officials have said they so far have no indication of any security threat. About 6 in 10 Americans say Saturday's parade is 'not a good use' of government money, including the vast majority of people, 78%, who neither approve nor disapprove of the parade overall, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The parade will wind down Constitution Avenue, which is already lined with security fencing and barriers. Army helicopters and aircraft will fly above, and the march will be capped off by a parachute jump, a concert featuring 'God Bless the U.S.A.' singer Lee Greenwood and fireworks. With rain expected, there is a chance the parade could be interrupted by thunderstorms. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly has said the march will go on rain or shine. But it could be delayed if there is lightning, with authorities quick to empty the expansive National Mall if it happens during major events. The parade fulfills Trump's expressed desire for a big parade that he tried to get done in his first presidential term after seeing one in France on Bastille Day in 2017. Trump said that after watching the two-hour procession along the famed Champs-Élysées, he wanted an even grander one on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Army expects as many as 200,000 people could attend the festival and parade. The festival will begin around 9:30 a.m. EDT and feature fitness competitions, demonstrations, equipment displays, music and a cake-cutting ceremony. The parade is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT, but parts of it — including the horse-drawn caissons and other units — start at the Pentagon, head over a bridge and meet up with some of the heavier tanks and equipment. Officials did not want the more-than-60-ton M1A1 Abrams tanks and Stryker vehicles crossing the bridge. Timed down to the minute, the march will be divided into sections by history — with equipment and troops in full dress from each period. It will include a total of 6,169 soldiers and 128 Army tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery, while 62 aircraft fly overhead. At the end of the parade, Trump will swear in 250 new or reenlisting troops, and the Army's Golden Knights parachute team will jump onto the Mall. That will be followed by the concert and fireworks. ____ Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price and Tara Copp contributed to this report.
Winnipeg Free Press
37 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
US military parade has global counterparts in democracies, monarchies and totalitarian regimes
The military parade to mark the Army's 250th anniversary and its convergence with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday are combining to create a peacetime outlier in U.S. history. Yet it still reflects global traditions that serve a range of political and cultural purposes. Variations on the theme have surfaced among longtime NATO allies in Europe, one-party and authoritarian states and history's darkest regimes. France: Bastille Day and Trump's idée inspirée The oldest democratic ally of the U.S. holds a military parade each July 14 to commemorate one of the seminal moments of the French Revolution. It inspired — or at least stoked — Trump's idea for a Washington version. On July 14, 1789, French insurgents stormed the Bastille, which housed prisoners of Louis XVI's government. Revolutionaries commenced a Fête de la Fédération as a day of national unity and pride the following year, even with the First French Republic still more than two years from being established. The Bastille Day parade has rolled annually since 1880. Now, it proceeds down an iconic Parisian route, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. It passes the Arc de Triomphe — a memorial with tributes to the French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars and World War I — and eventually in front of the French president, government ministers and invited foreign guests. Trump attended in 2017, early in his first presidency, as U.S. troops marched as guests. The spectacle left him openly envious. 'It was one of the greatest parades I've ever seen,' Trump told French President Emanuel Macron. 'It was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France. We're going to have to try and top it.' The British set modern ceremonial standards In the United Kingdom, King Charles III serves as ceremonial (though not practical) head of U.K. armed forces. Unlike in France and the U.S., where elected presidents wear civilian dress even at military events, Charles dons elaborate dress uniforms — medals, sash, sword, sometimes even a bearskin hat and chin strap. He does it most famously at Trooping the Colour, a parade and troop inspection to mark the British monarch's official birthday, regardless of their actual birthdate. (The U.S. Army has said it has no specific plans to recognize Trump's birthday on Saturday.) In 2023, Charles' first full year as king, he rode on horseback to inspect 1,400 representatives of the most prestigious U.K. regiments. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, used a carriage over the last three decades of her 70-year reign. The British trace Trooping the Colour back to King Charles II, who reigned from 1660-1685. It became an annual event under King George III, described in the American colonists' Declaration of Independence as a figure of 'absolute Despotism (and) Tyranny.' Authoritarians flaunt military assets Grandiose military pomp is common under modern authoritarians, especially those who have seized power via coups. It sometimes serves as a show of force meant to ward off would-be challengers — and to seek legitimacy and respect from other countries. Cuba's Fidel Castro, who wore military garb routinely, held parades to commemorate the revolution he led on Dec. 2, 1959. In 2017, then-President Raúl Castro refashioned the event into a Fidel tribute shortly after his brother's death. Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, known as 'Comandante Chávez,' presided over frequent parades until his 2013 death. His successor, Nicolás Maduro, has worn military dress at similar events. North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un, who famously bonded with Trump in a 2018 summit, used a 2023 military parade to show off his daughter and potential successor, along with pieces of his isolated country's nuclear arsenal. The event in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square — named for Kim's grandfather — marked the North Korean Army's 75th birthday. Kim watched from a viewing stand as missiles other weaponry moved by and goose-stepping soldiers marched past him chanting, 'Defend with your life, Paektu Bloodline' — referring to the Kim family's biological ancestry. In China, Beijing's one-party government stages its National Day Parade every 10 years to project civic unity and military might. The most recent events, held in 2009 and 2019, involved trucks carrying nuclear missiles designed to evade U.S. defenses, as well as other weaponry. Legions of troops, along with those hard assets, streamed past President Xi Jinping and other leaders gathered in Tiananmen Square in 2019 as spectators waved Chinese flags and fighter jets flew above. Earlier this spring, Xi joined Russian President Vladimir Putin — another strongman leader Trump has occasionally praised — in Moscow's Red Square for the annual 'Victory Day' parade. The May 9 event commemorates the Soviet Union's role in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II — a global conflict in which China and the Soviet Union, despite not being democracies, joined the Allied Powers in fighting the Axis Powers led by Germany and Japan. A birthday parade for Hitler Large civic-military displays were, of course, a feature in Nazi Germany and fascist Italy before and during World War II. Chilling footage of such events lives on as a reminder of the dangers of authoritarian extremism. Among those frequent occasions: a parade capping Germany's multiday observance of Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday in 1939. (Some far-right extremists in Europe still mark the anniversary of Hitler's birth.) The four-hour march through Berlin on April 20, 1939, included more than 40,000 personnel across the Army, Navy, Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Schutzstaffel (commonly known as the 'SS.') Hundreds of thousands of spectators lined the streets. The Führer's invited guests numbered 20,000. On a street-level platform, Hitler was front and center. Alone. ___
