At Ben Gurion Airport, the author used a U.S. passport marked X for gender, a moment that underscored both personal dignity and a broader debate over identification. The piece traces how U.S. policy evolved from allowing self-declared markers under Biden to President Trump’s order ending X and reverting to sex at birth. After an ACLU suit, a Massachusetts judge blocked the order, but the Supreme Court let it proceed, calling sex at birth a historical fact; Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. The author argues the rule hinders accurate identification and endangers trans and nonbinary travelers.

Prepared by Lauren Mitchell and reviewed by editorial team.