But now, after nearly 20 months of secrecy, the State Department has finally declassified its full guidelines for ‘adjudicating’ sex markers on passports, and unfortunately, it’s even worse than was previously believed. The policy in question, which is codified as Section 403.3 of Volume 8 of the Foreign Affairs Manual and is simply titled ‘Sex Markers,’ is divided into four subsections: Summary, Procedures, Eligibility for a Fully Valid Passport or Passport Card, and Indicators of a Prior Change to Sex Marker.
My sex is F on my driver’s license, birth certificate, blood tests, basic inspection of my face, basic inspection of my genitals, etc, but they’d force my passport to say otherwise. Sex marker changes on passports weren’t even a recent thing, though they were really easy under Biden. I’m very grateful I got mine changed and renewed then.