११ एप्रिल, २०२२

"In 2018, I officially changed the gender marker on my passport from M to F. By that point, I had socially transitioned, undergone top surgery..."

"... and been on hormone replacement therapy for years. But updating the marker didn’t make travel easier. Traveling while transgender only became more difficult. I’m well over 6 feet tall. Unless I decide to dress extremely femme and put on a full face of makeup — to then sit for hours on a cramped, sweaty airplane — the F on my passport actually invites extra scrutiny. Because I don’t always 'pass,' it frequently outs me as trans. The U.S. State Department... will soon have the option to choose X as their gender marker as an alternative to M or F.... But given the trouble that often accompanies being out as non-binary, the move won’t 'advance inclusion' as much as the department’s announcement claims. If the State Department really wanted to take a step forward, there’s an easier, cheaper and more powerful option: remove gender from passports altogether.... In the future, we may live in a society that doesn’t require trans people to out ourselves at the airport."

From "There’s a better solution than offering X-gender passports" by Abeni Jones (WaPo).

Yeah, why is the government involved in your genitalia? What are you bringing onto this plane?

८७ टिप्पण्या:

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

It's going to be harder for law enforcement to issue "Be On the LookOut" notices any more.

Every suspect will be a "person of unspecified gender."

And if you are an X, who pats you down at the airport? Another X?

tim maguire म्हणाले...

Makes sense. The gender category doesn't help identify the person, so why have it at all on a document whose only purpose is to identify the person?

MadisonMan म्हणाले...

I would ask this person: Are you concerned about the environment at all? Why are you flying so much?

Critter म्हणाले...

What a narcicist. Change the world to make me more comfortable. This attitude is a huge obstacle in trans people gaining acceptance.

Temujin म्हणाले...

What do the Israelis do? Just asking because no one does airline security better than they do. So...now with social 'justice' all the rage, and the Trans movement in full recruitment mode, I'm sure it's a thing in Tel Aviv as well. What do the Israelis do?

It might be a model to watch. Not that we learn anything from them when it comes to TSA. We don't even try to. Somehow we leave it up to Alejandro Mayorkas to oversee that.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"And if you are an X, who pats you down at the airport? Another X?"

That's a big part of what's in the linked article. You're going to be asked do you want a man or woman to pat you down.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

It's an efficient source of information. One bit (M or F) divides the population in half. Think of it as genitals at birth. It's not about what you identify as.

It almost always matters which you are.

"Two great sexes animate the world" Milton, Paradise Lost.

farmgirl म्हणाले...

Why is this person ashamed to be trans? Honestly, why can’t trans/F &trans/M be a new gender expressed identity &leave the biological sexes alone?

Freedom of expression…

Derve Swanson म्हणाले...
ब्लॉग प्रशासकाने ही टिप्पण्णी हटविली आहे.
Drago म्हणाले...

Althouse: "That's a big part of what's in the linked article. You're going to be asked do you want a man or woman to pat you down."

There are biologists who will be willing to work for TSA?

Otherwise, there will be no way to identify who is a woman or man.

Jamie म्हणाले...

Being trans outed this person as trans. That said, if we go to effective facial recognition on passports, as I understand many other countries have, I don't object to taking sex (or gender, whatever, now that you're going to be able to say X), off them.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

They name them backwards too. A trans-male ought to be a male at birth passing as female.

gilbar म्हणाले...

I’m well over 6 feet tall. because you're a guy
the F on my passport actually invites extra scrutiny. because you're a guy
remove gender from passports altogether..

Why not remove names, ages, heights, weights, eye and hair color too?
Wouldn't THAT remove the "extra scrutiny?
After all, WHOSE business is it Who we are or What we bring on the plane? Oh, wait..

Maynard म्हणाले...

It's going to be harder for law enforcement to issue "Be On the LookOut" notices any more.

TV News Flash: The local bank was just robbed by a person wearing a blue t-shirt. Be on the lookout for this person.

Old and slow म्हणाले...

I think I would prefer the woman...

dbp म्हणाले...

As a man, I don't really want anyone patting me down at the airport. A couple of weeks ago, on my way to New Orleans to see our daughter, I was thinking (while being patted-down by a man) that this would be marginally less unpleasant if it was being done by a woman. Admittedly, it might be more unpleasant for the security person.

In any case, we have categories for a reason: Think of the APB: Be on the lookout for a person of undetermined gender, race, weight, height, hair color, skin color, etc. So, be on the lookout for a Human? How will we ever catch anyone?

mccullough म्हणाले...

Just get rid of passports.

Get rid of all identification.

Jamie म्हणाले...

You're going to be asked do you want a man or woman to pat you down.

This is reminiscent to me of the signs posted at my doctor's office about all the languages they must provide translators for. There are at least a dozen, in an office of about four doctors and probably eight nurses/NPs/PAs. I don't see how it's possible, which makes the signs just theater.

Security agents, for the nonce, HAVE to identify as M or F, apparently? Down the line, will it instead be necessary to have at least one of every possible letter on hand? Or - as with the signs in my doctor's office - will it all just be theater?

Amadeus 48 म्हणाले...

An article on the absurdities encountered while humoring the mentally ill. Democracy dies in darkness! I am a live and let live person, but no one should expect the road to be easy.

The resistance to gay marriage collapsed so fast that Human Rights Watch and its infrastructure had to come up with a new campaign, and they did. Transgender rights!

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

We don't care.

gilbar म्हणाले...

Drago said...
Otherwise, there will be no way to identify who is a woman or man.


Don't have to identify you, You're going to be asked do you want a man or woman to pat you down

Personally, i LIKE this! As a heterosexual man, i'll ask for a woman!!
Preferably, a nice cute blonde woman; that smiles and seems just a little bashful

This could MAKE FLYING FUN AGAIN!!!!

NorthOfTheOneOhOne म्हणाले...

Traveling while transgender only became more difficult. I’m well over 6 feet tall. Unless I decide to dress extremely femme and put on a full face of makeup — to then sit for hours on a cramped, sweaty airplane...

Something 100% double X chromosome women do every day. Gotta wonder about this person's commitment to the cause.

Mike Sylwester म्हणाले...

A man who is " well over 6 feet tall" will not be able to pass as a woman.

He should develop another remedy for his disorder.

For example, he might study philosophy and ponder the human reality that you cannot have or be everything you want in life. You will be disappointed by much in your life. Some things in your life cannot be changed much.

For another example, he might go through psychiatric therapy.

For another example, he might cross-dress just occasionally and privately.

Trying to become a woman is a futile remedy for a man who is "well over 6 feet tall".

Michael म्हणाले...

Oh, thanks, trans human. Now we’re going to have another step in going through security whenever the buzzer goes off. Please take a tip from Althouse and stay the fuck out of airports and airplanes and for the love of God shut the hell up.

JAB5ORS म्हणाले...

gilbar beat me to it. 4 star comment

West TX Intermediate Crude म्हणाले...

Again, a representative of some small fraction of 1% of humanity demanding that the world revolve around his delusion.
Sorry, not sorry.
We have more important things to worry about.

Mike Sylwester म्हणाले...

The only identification that the airlines should require is proof of vaccination against COVID-19. And on that vaccination record, all identification (e.g. name, SSN, DOB, sex) should be obliterated.

Breezy म्हणाले...

Cataloguing the bodies after a crash will be more difficult.

Joel Winter म्हणाले...

When I heard about the "X" option on passports I came to the same conclusion--just get rid of the "Sex" identifier entirely, then.

The usage of an "X" designation renders the "M" or "F" practically meaningless within the scope of using the passport for identification.

Why? Because the "X" selection is entirely independent of any measurable, internal or externally definable characteristics. With M and F there is at least some general agreement about what those terms mean on a variety of measures/observations/genes, etc.

Once you introduce an "X" category (especially without definition at all), what do M and F mean in relation to it?

(Is it important to note that the passport uses the term "Sex," not "Gender" when considering this?)

Carol म्हणाले...

Over six feet tall. Sounds like a dorky female, better left as a male.

Don't these trans have any taste?

wendybar म्हणाले...

mccullough said...
Just get rid of passports.

Get rid of all identification.

4/11/22, 8:36 AM

Why not? We don't want to offend anybody anymore...pretty soon, we will all be numbered serfs for the elites.

wendybar म्हणाले...

WHY is government involved in ANYTHING other than securing our borders and keeping us safe? They should stay out of the bedrooms....even the disposing of babies by selfish people who won't take responsibility for their actions.

Sebastian म्हणाले...

Since gender identification is now a matter of individual choice, may I choose not to identify as gendered at all? Trans and non-binary are stuck on the old categories; I choose to transcend. I demand an Ø option on my passport.

Owen म्हणाले...

Yes, let's completely overturn the current arrangements with which literally billions of people are familiar, so that we can cater to this self-absorbed freak and his (her? xir? its?) friends.

I am so over this.

Mark म्हणाले...

OTHER countries can impose whatever entry requirements they want.

If they want an M or F on a passport before they let you in -- and a true M or F at that -- those countries can do so. Don't like it? Then stay home. The other 99.99 percent of humanity have no problems with it.

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

"Because I don’t always 'pass,' it frequently outs me as trans."

None of them actually "pass". The belief that they actually are fooling anyone is a delusion.

Deevs म्हणाले...

The writer's concern for being outed as trans is interesting. If trans women are women, what's wrong with people realizing you're trans? Doesn't trying to prevent people from realizing you're trans mean you're not being you're authentic self? There's even an entire day dedicated to trans visibility, yet the writer doesn't want to be visibly trans.

Is it fear of discrimination and persecution? Not a totally unreasonable fear, though I couldn't say how justifiable it really is. Last I checked the trans murder rate is lower than the national average. Besides, I thought discrimination and persecution were acceptable and necessary risks behind pride movements.

So, the fear of being outed as trans suggests that this trans individual is interested in fooling people into thinking they're interacting with a biological female. Changing the "M" to "F" (Wait, aren't those sex markers rather than gender markers?) apparently casts a spotlight on the fact that our writer isn't fooling anyone.

If this fear of being outed as trans is representative of the trans community, then we've found another area where the T's differ from the LGB's. The latter don't want to have to keep their sexuality secret while the former do want to hide their transness.

TRISTRAM म्हणाले...

The passport is a widely accepted fork of authoritative identification. It is also, often, a record of permission / access to areas with limited access.

Go ahead, make the passport less useful for its reason to exist. A replacement will be created that does the same thing.

Robert Cook म्हणाले...

"Trying to become a woman is a futile remedy for a man who is 'well over 6 feet tall".'

Not necessarily. There are women over 6 feet tall.

Achilles म्हणाले...

No penises in the girls bathroom. There need to be spaces in society for women that don’t have dicks. That includes sports.

I don’t care about the rest.

Enigma म्हणाले...

Pulled dragging and screaming into biological facts and imperatives.

With baby formula rationing due to pandemic/war food shortages and supply line issues, just wait until they discover that breastfeeding requires functional breasts.

Biotrekker म्हणाले...

"Because I don’t always 'pass,' it frequently outs me as trans." Gee, I wonder why she does not always "pass".

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

'Because I don’t always 'pass,' it frequently outs me as trans.'

Cue Austin Powers meme, 'She's a man, baby!'

Joe Bar म्हणाले...

Why even identify anyone anymore? We’re all just faceless automatons.

Howard म्हणाले...

With metal hips before body scanning, I would get a full clothed pat down head to toes every flight. By being completely unfazed and normal while assuming the positions, I was always treated with efficiency and good humor. If you're not experienced embracing the suck, don't be surprised if TSA is slow rude or worse.

Every structure has a system. The trans lady should embrace her transness and look forward to TSA attentions with a good strong open heart. If you can fake that, you got it made

PM म्हणाले...

With that screening machine we all go through, "TSA officers can actually see hazy but recognizable images of nipples, backsides and male genitalia." Wear a dress with a dick and that's how you'll be identified - as a guy wearing a dress, socially transitioned or not.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves म्हणाले...

This helps the pro-crime movement, too.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves म्हणाले...

I think all dudes should twitch to wimin. You guys are in for some winning!

Rusty म्हणाले...

Mike
For another example they might try and grow the f*ck up. Catering to adult people who insist on being children is a waste of time. You only get more, " Look at me!".

Iman म्हणाले...

“ That's a big part of what's in the linked article. You're going to be asked do you want a man or woman to pat you down.”

I’m afraid, It’s Pat!

Real American म्हणाले...

It should say "Man who falsely believes he's a Woman."

Lem Vibe Bandit म्हणाले...

I’m old enough to remember when there was a pay gap between men and women. If you diminish the category into oblivion how are we going to know whether or not women are getting a fair shake at the job market?

Iman म्हणाले...

Who said life was easy!?!?

Iman म्हणाले...

“A man who is " well over 6 feet tall" will not be able to pass as a woman.”

The easy solution would’ve been to have 9 to 14 inches of both legs removed when the surgeons were in the lopping off mode.

Temujin म्हणाले...

What West TX Intermediate Crude said at 8:59am.

The obsession to demand that global society stop everything and change to conform to the needs-of-the-moment of a fraction of humanity is insane. We all have- the world has- much larger and more important issues to deal with than how you're labeled on your passport. Surely if you make the transition from woman to man or man to woman, you have to expect that you've taken yourself out of the 'norm' of society. It is a choice and with that choice comes some realities.

I'm not saying it's good or bad. But it is reality. And I don't want to say I don't care about you, but I don't spend a moment thinking about you. Nor do I expect anyone to spend a moment thinking about me. We all have our own lives to get through. I live with my decisions and expect no one to make special arrangements for me. You should do the same.

MikeR म्हणाले...

"Yeah, why is the government involved in your genitalia?" Why has our society so lost its bearings that this question even needs to be asked? I know - let's build everything in our society around the fraction of one percent of us with a particular mental illness. Why would anyone object?

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

Howard likes the TSA because it is the only place anyone shows him any love.

Birches म्हणाले...

Elizabeth Debecki is over 6ft tall I believe, but she doesn't have to worry about passing.

Leland म्हणाले...

Interesting that WaPo doesn’t think you need a passport to cross our southern border regardless of origin nor do you need an ID to vote, but wants to talk about the specifics of whether gender/sex belongs on a passport. If you believe in open borders, shouldn’t you stick with passports are not necessary? If you think they are necessary, then you probably know why that field is there.

Breezy म्हणाले...

TSA will see the X. No one else will. It won’t change a thing vis a vis “passing” while traveling.

Iman म्हणाले...

Just embrace being abbynormal, fer chrissakes. It was what you aspired to.

TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed म्हणाले...

Perhaps instead of only having one flag for sex/gender on passports, we should now have two:

1. Sex - For the physical equipment you possess. If you change it surgically, you can then change your designation;
2. Gender - Three options (M, F, None of the Above) - pick your fave.

This would more effectively represent where we are as a culture, with some people insisting on trying to separate sex from gender. For the vast, vast, majority of us the two values will align -- M with M, F with F. For a tiny minority, there will not be alignment, but they would be fully able to represent themselves to others in a way that should be reasonably satisfactory. Good enough for government work, as it were.

MayBee म्हणाले...

The last few women I've had pat me down, I'm pretty sure were lesbians ('m a woman). So maybe it isn't enough to ask if you want a man or a woman to pat you down. You need to know their sexual preferences. Do you want a TSA agent attracted to your gender as you present yourself, or no?

n.n म्हणाले...

Trans/X, Latin/X, where X indicates mutant.

That said, trans/fluid, neither trans/homo nor trans/bi nor trans/neo etc., and heterosexual until further notice.

n.n म्हणाले...

Just embrace being abbynormal, fer chrissakes. It was what you aspired to.

Individuals in the transgender spectrum are transphobic, a projected condition that stems from residing outside of normal (e.g. distribution). That said, Her Choice, but be wary of her Choice influences.

What's emanating from your penumbra म्हणाले...

I can't fool people as well as I'd like to. I'm rejecting the normal, but it's not fair for people to notice.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe म्हणाले...

IF: it is important to quickly and correctly identify a person,
THEN: a marker which cuts the problem in half is of great value.
SO: peckkered or pussied?

Consider some alternatives:
..proceed with the need to quickly and correctly identify people, but without use of this simple and highly reliable marker. Major increase in inconvenience for everyone on the planet.
..do away with any requirement to quickly and correctly identify people. Chaos.
..microchips implanted at birth (or when joining a civilization).

n.n म्हणाले...

Male or female sex. Masculine or feminine gender, respectively. X marks the spot.

What's emanating from your penumbra म्हणाले...

Blogger gilbar said...

Drago said...
Don't have to identify you, You're going to be asked do you want a man or woman to pat you down

Personally, i LIKE this! As a heterosexual man, i'll ask for a woman!!
Preferably, a nice cute blonde woman; that smiles and seems just a little bashful

This could MAKE FLYING FUN AGAIN!!!!


I hope one of the options is to be groped by a woman acting like a man acting like a woman.

Jim at म्हणाले...

I'd say I can't wait for this trans fad to be over, but I'm certain whatever the left comes up with next will be even worse.

Denever म्हणाले...

This was predictable for WaPo. What is amazing is today's op-ed from someone who transitioned 30 years ago and says "I wasn't old enough [at 19] to make that decision."

Rick67 म्हणाले...

My first thought is the purpose of passports, the need to be able to identify persons entering a country by specific characteristics that others can see and measure, not by how that person identifies. I might identify as a manatee but my passport doesn't describe me that way. If something dreadful happens, such information is how local authorities can identify someone (alive or dead).

More importantly, perhaps, passports function as they do because of a shared agreement among the nations of the world. Passports are this size, they have this kind of photograph, this kind of information. If the United States decides to get rid of Sex in passports, how will the other nations of the world respond? That's like saying "our airplanes don't need transponders", other countries might say "fine, then you can't enter our airspace".

Earnest Prole म्हणाले...

Aren’t passports an agreement among all the foreign peoples of the world, carefully negotiated over many centuries, to provide information sufficient to create the trust required to allow entry into their respective countries? Are Americans really so arrogant as to think they can and should unilaterally dictate what that agreement will be? No wonder everyone hates us.

Robert Cook म्हणाले...

"I’m old enough to remember when there was a pay gap between men and women."

I should say you would be, as it is still a thing, (though it is closing a bit).

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

It's a good idea to be color-blind and aware of human sexual difference.

It's a damn stupid idea to think race is everything, and pretend like gender is nothing.

The left has somehow become oblivious to human biology.

Presumably because the left -- what's left of it -- is holed up in their parent's basement and only knows of human existence via twitter.

I don't know when America will realize that the left has killed a lot of babies, and fucked up a lot of children. But my best guess is the Democrat party won't survive. And it will be replaced by Greens and/or socialists.

Michael K म्हणाले...

A friend of mine who is an American Airlines captain, when he was a FO used to fly with a captain who was a trannie. The guy was 6-2 with size 12 shoes. It was really sad. I see them once in a while in the market. I hope they are happy with the price they paid. The look ridiculous but we are not allowed to laugh.

Michael K म्हणाले...


Blogger Robert Cook said...

"I’m old enough to remember when there was a pay gap between men and women."

I should say you would be, as it is still a thing, (though it is closing a bit).


Anybody who knows anything about economics (not Cook) knows that the pay differential (if it existed) would see men quickly replaced by women who did the same job for less. In fact this is an old leftist myth. Even women doctors have been shown to work 25% less hours per week then men.

cubanbob म्हणाले...

This is moronic. Other countries will require a visa requiring the correct information.

effinayright म्हणाले...

Earnest Prole said...
Aren’t passports an agreement among all the foreign peoples of the world, carefully negotiated over many centuries, to provide information sufficient to create the trust required to allow entry into their respective countries? Are Americans really so arrogant as to think they can and should unilaterally dictate what that agreement will be? No wonder everyone hates us.
***********

Yes. I will enjoy hearing about trannies arriving at the immigration counter in, say, Saudi, with an ambiguous "gender" on their passports.

"Not male? Not female? OK, what ev, welcome to the Kingdom."

SNORT

Static Ping म्हणाले...

Yeah, why is the government involved in your genitalia? What are you bringing onto this plane?

Because it makes it easier to identify the person, which is vitally important on airplanes. Or so I'm told given they take a picture of my junk every time I want to get on one. Hey, there's your reason. They are going to see it anyway.

farmgirl म्हणाले...

Geez- where is Gilbar, anyway?
He usually has something interesting to say!

Clyde म्हणाले...

As long as we're going to do the TSA security theater, they'll have TSA having to pat certain people down, and they need to have someone of the same sex doing it so that women aren't complaining about being groped by men. There are only two sexes. Sad for the trans people, but it's the way of the world.

Bunkypotatohead म्हणाले...

"Because I don’t always 'pass,' it frequently outs me as trans."

He has it backwards. Because he is a trans, he doesn't pass as a woman. It reminds me of the 6'2" guy with an Adam's apple and a bleach blond wig at work who insisted on being part of the Women-In-Networking group.

Iman म्हणाले...

“The last few women I've had pat me down, I'm pretty sure were lesbians ('m a woman). So maybe it isn't enough to ask if you want a man or a woman to pat you down.”

I don’t know about that last part, MayBee, but that first sentence was soooo HOT! I now condemn myself and will cancel myself until tomorrow…

FullMoon म्हणाले...

Yeah, why is the government involved in your genitalia? What are you bringing onto this plane?

If I were as crude as some here, I might suggest googling "woman conceals gun in vagina" for an answer.

I am too dignified to suggest..

farmgirl म्हणाले...

FullMoon: I appreciate your dignity lol

Rusty म्हणाले...

Inman for the SNL refrence!