The new policy enables transgender Americans to change their records to reflect how they identify themselves.
The Social Security Administration announced on Wednesday that people will now be allowed to select the sex that best aligns with their gender identity in records, a policy change intended to be more inclusive of transgender Americans.
The agency said it would now accept people’s self-identified gender identity of male or female, even if their identity documents show otherwise, and it is exploring a future policy that would allow for an “X” sex designation for people who do not identify as either male or female. The Social Security Administration had promised in March that the new policy would be in effect by fall.
The acting commissioner of the agency, Kilolo Kijakazi, said in a news release that the new policy demonstrated a “commitment to decrease administrative burdens and ensure people who identify as gender diverse or transgender have options in the Social Security Number card application process.”
The change followed similar measures enacted by other federal agencies: In March, the State Department announced that it would give Americans the option of indicating their gender with an “X” on passports. The Transportation Security Administration also announced at the time that it would offer the “X” gender option for applicants to its Trusted Traveler programs, which expedite travelers at U.S. airports and across international borders.
The Biden administration has also sought to make its federal forms of identification, applications for federal programs and travel documents more inclusive for Americans who identify as transgender or nonbinary by making the “X” option widely available.
The Social Security Administration’s policy will alow people to select their sex in records “without needing to provide documentation of their sex designation,” Ms. Kijakazi said.
People seeking to update their sex marker in the administration’s records will have to apply for a replacement Social Security card and show a proof of identity. But they will not be required to show medical or legal documents that show their sex designation, the administration said.
States across the country have contended with a similar debate over whether to allow an “X” option on licenses and birth certificates. In May, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said that New Yorkers would be allowed to choose an “X” gender marker on driver's licenses and identification cards. In Oklahoma, however, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill earlier this year that prohibited the use of nonbinary gender markers such as “X” on birth certificates.
A report in June by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law showed that the number of young people who identify as transgender has nearly doubled in recent years, underscoring an emerging societal embrace of a diversity of gender identities. But the growth has come against a backdrop of anti-trans sentiment, and as multiple Republican-led states pursue bills that attempt to prevent transgender children from participating in youth sports.
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October 20, 2022 at 08:12AM
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Social Security Will Now Allow People to Select Their Gender in Records - The New York Times
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