TikTok influencer vows to 'fight' Trump over anti-trans passport policy

Zaya Perysian is among seven trans,non-binary and intersex people in the US taking the Trump administration to court (Picture: Reuters)

A trans influencer with nearly 5 million TikTok followers is taking on the Trump administration after she was issued a male passport.

Zaya Perysian,22,received her new passport by post in January,only to see a ‘big ugly M’ listed as her sex,rather than as ‘F’ for female.

The Californian knew exactly who was to blame,she told Reuters. Donald Trump.

The State Department introduced a new policy that prevents people from changing their passport gender marker after the president signed an executive order that declared there are only two genders: male and female,as assigned at birth.

This included a directive that demands ‘government-issued identification documents’ reflect the owner’s gender ‘at conception’.

‘This is something that has been forced upon me,basically,’ Zaya said.

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‘And it’s really unfair and kind of crazy,but that’s why we’re fighting it.’

Trump’s declaration,titled ‘Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government’,asserts that the government must end ‘gender ideology’.

Join Metro's LGBTQ+ community on WhatsApp

With thousands of members from all over the world,our vibrant LGBTQ+ WhatsApp channel is a hub for all the latest news and important issues that face the LGBTQ+ community.Simply click on this link,select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in! Don't forget to turn on notifications!Zaya is among seven trans,non-binary and intersex people who filed a lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in February,arguing that Trump’s anti-trans passport policy is unconstitutional.Zaya,who documented her transition on TikTok and has lived openly as a trans woman since 2020,has a driving licence and other government documentation that matches her gender identity.She rushed to get a new passport after hearing of Trump’s executive order.So,being involved in the suit,filed in federal court in Massachusetts,was an ‘obvious’ call,she said.Zaya says she lives ‘every day’ as a woman (Picture: RTRS)‘At the end of the day,I’m a woman,and I don’t care how many people agree or disagree,’ the influencer said.‘I live every day as a woman. I surround myself with people who see me and respect me as a woman.’The Statement Department’s ‘Sex Markers in Passports’ webpage states that officials no longer issue passports with gender-neutral ‘X’ markers,an option since 2022.‘We will only issue passports with an M or F sex marker that match the customer’s biological sex at birth,’ it adds.This,the plaintiffs say,violates constitutional protections against sex discrimination and infringes on the rights to privacy and freedom of speech.Simply having a letter on a passport that accurately reflects a trans person’s gender identity reduces the risk they will face violence,harassment and discrimination,according to the Movement Advancement Project,which tracks queer policy.Zaya and the other plaintiffs say the passport policy is unconstitutional (Picture: Reuters)Being misgendered can impact trans people’s mental health,researchers have found. The community suffer higher rates of mental health difficulties and suicide than people who are cisgender,someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birthIn the 1990s,trans people who wished to update their passports in the US had to provide evidence they had undergone gender-affirming surgery.This requirement was loosened slightly – a doctor’s note – in 2010 before former president Joe Biden scrapped the medical requirement altogether.Around 1.4% of the non-binary people in the US,or 16,700 people,request passports with an X gender marker every year,according to the Williams Institute,a research centre at the University of California.‘This executive order made it impossible for transgender,non-binary,and intersex Americans to have accurate federal identity documents,including their passports,’ added ACLU attorney Sruti Swaminathan to Reuters.Trump has increasingly tried to challenge the legitimacy of trans people,from banning trans soldiers from serving in the military to playing professional sports.The US State Department and the US Department of Justice have been approached for comment.