Apparently Marco Rubio issued instructions to the State Department to halt processing any passport applications with the X gender marker — not very long after mine began processing.
- If it goes through with the X: it’s going into a drawer, and will not to be used for travel at least until Chump is out of office.
- If it goes through with the M from my birth certificate: it’s going into a drawer, not to be used for travel. And then it will be corrected when the next president fixes this stupid shit.
- If it doesn’t go through at all: they have effectively stolen the application fee, the extra fee for expediting it, and (if they don’t mail it back) an original birth certificate. I will join whatever class-action lawsuit results from it.
Again: this is really all just symbolic for me (aside from the money, which wasn’t much in the scheme of things, but still). This specific order is a potential disrption or actual threat to trans and nonbinary travelers, and other aspects of the orders are going to cause very real harm (if they haven’t already) as well as worsening a mental health crisis. Of course officially sanctioned transphobia, combined with releasing a bunch of anti-democracy fascist terrorists from prison, is a horrifying combination.
I wrote an email to my parents updating them about my gender identity and asking them to use they/them pronouns. Also, and I felt this was important, saying that I don’t think I should feel awkward talking about this stuff with trusted family and friends.
That was late at night; I spent most of the next day worrying whether it would or had upset my mom. But then, she sent me a text saying she’d meant to respond earlier, and please don’t take the delay as a negative reaction, and she’d have some questions another time. Okay, that works.
It’s been hard to concentrate on much else this week. Quasi-doomscrolling, commenting a lot on Reddit posts. I donated to the Trans Empowerment Project and Lambda Legal (as well as the Transgender Law Center on Monday). Bought some books and some stickers. Have been playing Guild Wars 2 again, now with a “male” elementalist who looks very femme, because Fuck Trump. Ultimately I know I’m not going to stick with the character or the game very long but it’s provided some distraction instead of doomscrolling. Probably music would be a better distraction but I guess I’m not punk enough to be immediately inspired by this sort of thing instead of just depressed and angry and anxious, so I need to work back up to it.