Story at a glance
- People may now self-select their sex on their social security number record, the Social Security Administration announced Wednesday as part of its “Equality Action Plan.”
- The move makes is easier for transgender people to change their sex designation by reversing a prior policy that required them to provide legal or medical documentation asserting their gender identity.
- A future policy update may include the option to self-select an “X” sex designation, the agency said Wednesday.
Americans may now self-select their sex on their social security number record, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced Wednesday.
Under the new policy, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals may change their sex designation in SSA records without providing medical or legal documentation to prove their gender identity. Those who opt to update their sex designation will need to apply for a replacement social security number card, the agency said, which requires that documentation like a drivers license or passport be submitted to certify their identity.
An applicant’s self-identified sex designation of either male or female will be accepted even if it is different from the sex designation on their identity documents. A future policy update may include the option to self-select an “X” sex designation, the agency said Wednesday, consistent with a move from the State Department this year allowing nonbinary U.S. passport holders to apply for a gender-neutral marker.
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The Department of Veterans Affairs implemented a similar policy in January, allowing transgender and nonbinary veterans to self-select their gender designation in official medical records.
Wednesday’s announcement is part of SSA’s “Equity Action Plan” designed to improve income security for traditionally underserved and diverse communities. In March, the agency’s acting commissioner, Kilolo Kijakazi, said the SSA is “committed to reducing barriers and ensuring the fair treatment of the LGBTQ+ community.”
It also reflects a larger Biden administration push to bolster protections for LGBTQ people, particularly transgender and nonbinary people, that have been targeted by recent moves by largely Republican state legislatures against gender-affirming health care.
In June, President Biden signed an executive order meant to advance equality for LGBTQ Americans nationwide, including by addressing “discriminatory legislative attacks” against transgender youth and adults.
More than a dozen states this year have introduced measures to bar transgender women and girls from participating on female sports teams and restrict access to gender-affirming care that most major medical associations agree is medically necessary.
Recent federal legislation backed by dozens of House Republicans would make it a felony to provide gender-affirming medical care to a minor and prohibit federal dollars from being used to make “sexually-oriented” materials available to children under 10 years old.
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