# Dana Zzyym > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dana_Zzyym > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dana_Zzyym.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana_Zzyym > Source revision: 1326084861 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American intersex activist (born 1958) Dana Zzyym Zzyym in 2016 Born 1958 (age 67–68) Occupation Activist Organization Intersex Campaign for Equality **Dana Alix Zzyym**[1] (born 1958) is an [intersex](/source/Intersex) activist and veteran of the U.S. Navy.[2] After the culmination of a six-year legal battle, they became the first U.S. citizen to receive an official [U.S. passport](/source/United_States_passport) with an "X" sex/gender marker.[3] ## Early life Zzyym was born in 1958. Zzyym says that their childhood as a [military brat](/source/Military_brat_(U.S._subculture)) made it out of the question for them to be associated with the [queer community](/source/Queer_community) as a youth due to the prevalence of homophobia in the armed forces. Their parents hid Zzyym's status as intersex from them; Zzyym independently discovered their identity and the surgeries their parents had approved for them after their Navy service.[4] In 1978, Zzyym joined the Navy as a [machinist's mate](/source/Machinist's_mate). ## Activism Zzyym is the associate director of the [Intersex Campaign for Equality](/source/Intersex_Campaign_for_Equality).[5][6][7] They are [nonbinary](/source/Non-binary_gender) and intersex.[3] ## Legal case Zzyym is the first veteran to seek a non-binary gender U.S. passport, in the lawsuit *Zzyym v. Blinken* (formerly *Zzyym v. Pompeo*, *Zzyym v. Tillerson*, and *Zzyym v. Kerry*).[8] In light of the State Department's continuing refusal to recognize an appropriate gender marker, on June 27, 2017, a federal court granted Lambda Legal's motion to reopen the case.[9][10] On September 19, 2018, the [United States District Court for the District of Colorado](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Colorado) enjoined the [U.S. Department of State](/source/U.S._Department_of_State) from relying upon its binary-only gender marker policy to withhold the requested passport.[11] In February 2021, the state department stated "To fully integrate the change into its software systems would take approximately 24 months and cost $11 million".[12] In October 2021, they became the first U.S. citizen to receive an official U.S. passport with an "X" sex/gender marker.[2] ## See also - [Intersex people and military service](/source/Intersex_people_and_military_service) - [Intersex people and military service in the United States](/source/Intersex_people_and_military_service_in_the_United_States) - [Elisa Rae Shupe](/source/Elisa_Rae_Shupe) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["A U.S. Federal court just told the State Department to issue its first-ever gender neutral passport"](https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/03/u-s-federal-court-just-told-state-department-issue-first-ever-gender-neutral-passport/). March 2, 2019. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_2-1) ["U.S. Issues First Passport With Third Gender Option"](https://www.advocate.com/news/2021/10/27/us-issues-first-passport-third-gender-option). *www.advocate.com*. October 27, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Legal_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Legal_3-1) Legal, Lambda. ["Lambda Legal Client Dana Zzyym Receives First 'X' U.S. Passport"](https://www.lambdalegal.org/blog/co_20211027_dana-zzyym-receives-first-us-passport-with-x-gender-marker). *Lambda Legal*. Retrieved December 6, 2021. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [*Intersex - My Body, My Rights!*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4NXY5FASj4) (Video). YouTube. August 31, 2014. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Lambda Legal](/source/Lambda_Legal) (October 26, 2015). ["Lambda Legal Sues U.S. State Department on Behalf of Intersex Citizen Denied Passport"](http://www.lambdalegal.org/blog/20151026_zzyym-intersex-denied-passport). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170221091615/http://www.lambdalegal.org/blog/20151026_zzyym-intersex-denied-passport) from the original on February 21, 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Rein, Lisa (October 27, 2015). ["Intersex applicants face passport discrimination, says lawsuit seeking option other than 'M' or 'F'"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/10/27/intersex-applicants-face-passport-discrimination-says-lawsuit-seeking-option-other-than-m-or-f/). *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20151209170342/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/10/27/intersex-applicants-face-passport-discrimination-says-lawsuit-seeking-option-other-than-m-or-f/) from the original on December 9, 2015. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Dana Zzyym receives first U.S. passport with 'X' gender marker"](https://www.npr.org/2021/10/30/1050782672/dana-zzyym-receives-first-u-s-passport-with-x-gender-marker). *NPR.org*. Retrieved December 7, 2021. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Goldberg, Barbara (September 20, 2018). ["U.S. Court rules for Colorado 'intersex' veteran denied passport"](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colorado-intersex/u-s-court-rules-for-colorado-intersex-veteran-denied-passport-idUSKCN1M0241). *[Reuters](/source/Reuters)*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Zzyym v. Pompeo (formerly Zzyym v. Tillerson & Zzyym v. Kerry)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190208092531/https://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/co_zzyym-v-pompeo). Lambda Legal. Archived from [the original](https://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/co_zzyym-v-pompeo) on February 8, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Victory! State Department Cannot Rely on its Binary-Only Gender Policy to Deny Passport to Nonbinary Intersex Citizen"](https://www.lambdalegal.org/blog/20180919_victory-state-department-cannot-rely-on-binary-only-gender-policy). [Lambda Legal](/source/Lambda_Legal). September 19, 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Zzyym v. Pompeo"](https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20180919h14). [Leagle.com](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leagle.com&action=edit&redlink=1). September 19, 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Federal court orders State Department to issue the country's first nonbinary passport"](https://archive.thinkprogress.org/federal-court-nonbinary-intersex-passport-gender-marker-7ad1abce4e65/). February 22, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2022. ## Further reading - [U.S. Passports Can't Be Denied Over Refusal to Select a Gender, a Judge Has Ruled](https://web.archive.org/web/20180920121832/http://time.com/5401473/passport-gender-dana-zzyym/), *[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))* --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dana Zzyym](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana_Zzyym) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana_Zzyym?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.