Euphoria star Hunter Schafer took to TikTok to share an unexpected issue with her new U.S. passport—it listed her gender as male instead of female despite her correctly filling out the paperwork. The actress, who is transgender, expressed confusion and frustration over the mistake, which quickly ignited a conversation about gender identity policies in official U.S. documents.
RELATED STORIES: Ohio Governor Signs Transgender A Ban For Students
Hunter Schafer’s Passport Mistake—What Happened?
How the Error Came to Light
In a now-viral TikTok video, Hunter Schafer revealed her passport mishap to her fans. She had lost her passport while filming overseas and applied for a new one through standard procedures. However, upon picking up her updated document, she was shocked to find that her gender was listed as male—despite her explicitly marking female on the application.
According to BBC News, Schafer expressed that she did not expect this mistake to happen, considering the process allows individuals to self-select their gender identity. This discrepancy has now fueled speculation about whether it was a simple clerical error or if recent government policies on gender and passports played a role.
Did Trump-Era Policies Play a Role?
Schafer’s passport issue aligns with a past executive order issued during Donald Trump’s presidency, which restricted gender identity recognition to strictly male or female, based on a person’s sex assigned at birth.
This policy directly contradicted the 2022 changes under the Biden administration, which allowed U.S. citizens to self-identify their gender on passports and even choose “X” as an option for those who are non-binary, intersex, or gender non-conforming.
A Larger Issue: The Fight for Gender Recognition in Government Documents
The Evolution of U.S. Passport Gender Policies
For years, transgender rights advocates have fought for accurate gender representation on official documents. The ability to self-identify on passports, driver’s licenses, and birth certificates has been a major part of the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
In 2022, under the Biden administration, the U.S. introduced the “X” gender marker on passports, making it one of the most progressive identification policies globally. Before that, transgender individuals were often required to provide extensive medical documentation to update their gender markers—a process that many described as invasive and discriminatory.