"X" What Are The Risks?

This is something that I have thought about… gender neutral marker on driver licenses is it safe for us?

You are driving through a redneck town and you get stopped for speeding, this big old redneck cop steps up to your and asks for you driver license and says what’s this “X?” What do you think your chances are in talking your way out of a speeding ticket?

More than 7,000 Americans have gender X IDs, a victory for transgender rights. Is it a safety risk, too?
USA TODAY By Kristin Lam
August 9, 2019

Three years ago, no one in the United States was legally recognized as neither male or female.

Today, thousands of people can point to a gender-neutral marker on state driver's licenses and identification cards, according to records obtained by USA TODAY.

With two more states announcing plans last week to offer a gender X or non-binary marker, advocates say momentum for the option can help validate gender identity but that the designation can also raise safety concerns.
[…]
At least 7,251 gender X IDs and driver's licenses have been issued in nine states plus Washington, D.C., according to records obtained by USA TODAY from state departments. Indiana is the only state that currently issues gender X IDs that did not respond to USA TODAY's records request.
[…]
Ten states offer gender X IDs: Arkansas, Oregon, Minnesota, Maine, Utah, Colorado, California, Indiana, Nevada and Vermont. In the coming months, policies in Maryland, New Hampshire and Hawaii will go into effect.

You walk into a nightclub and the bouncer wants to check you age and asks for your driver license, are you nervous because you gender is “X?”

What about when you apply for a job? How do you think an “X” will affect you employment opportunities?

You have to go through TSA at the airport, are you nervous about showing your ID because of the “X?”

Wroblewski considered all the people who examine IDs — from TSA agents, bouncers to bank workers — and asked themselves: Do I want to feel validated in my gender, or do I want to feel safe?

"We give our ID to so many people that have so much power over our lives," Wroblewski said. "They have the power to decide if we can get a loan or if we can continue to drive and so many other things. These people don't always outwardly express their bigotry toward people who are trans, intersex and non-binary, but they certainly can have views that are homophobic, transphobic and that are just essentially dangerous toward us."

Another problem is mixed IDs your state ID might have an “X” but your passport only allows you to choose between “”M” or “F.”

While working with transgender people applying for grants to update their government IDs, however, Baldino said Trans Lifeline has heard safety concerns. Some worry that authorities who check IDs may not understand what a gender X marker means, Baldino said, possibly leading to invasive questions about their sex and body or harassment.

"I think there will be this time where there's a lot of people who might interact with these IDs who don't know what that is," Baldino said. "That could potentially put people's safety in question."

Don’t get me wrong, I am in favor of a gender-neutral option but like everything in life there are pros and cons to consider. Every day in life we have to make decisions that will affect our future and this is just another one we have to make.

I will still fight to add Connecticut to the list of states and on the federal level with a gender-neutral option because it is an option we should have.

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Another trans actress makes it big!

The L Word Reboot Casts Sense8 Star Jamie Clayton
Pride
By Taylor Henderso
August 1, 2019

Sensates rejoice! Jamie Clayton, who played Nomi Marks in the gone-too-soon sci-fi Netflix series Sense8, has officially been cast in The L Word reboot, Generation Q.

Clayton will play Tess, "a no-nonsense bartender who sees other people clearly but has a blind spot when it comes to her own relationships." She is the second trans actress announced as part of the cast, following the new of Sophie Giannamore being cast as Jordi, "a rebellious teen with absent parents."

With Clayton, Giannamore, and an unannounced trans male character joining the cast, The L Word: Generation Q is out to correct the mistakes of their past. "In this revival, Beals, Moennig, and Hailey will star on the series as their original characters alongside a new generation of self-possessed LGBTQIA characters experiencing love, heartbreak, sex, setbacks and success in L.A," the description reads.