For “Euphoria” star Hunter Schafer, the Trump administration and its rollout of anti-transgender executive orders now has her mulling the possibility of “having to out myself to Border Patrol agents” as she revealed her new passport misgenders her.
In a TikTok video shared Thursday, the 26-year-old “Cuckoo” and “Kinds of Kindness” actor showed off her new booklet, which incorrectly identifies her as male.
“I filled everything out just like I normally would. I put female,” she explained, “and when it was picked up today and I opened it up, they had changed the marker to male.”
Schafer, who is openly transgender, attributed the discrepancy to the Trump administration’s efforts to implement anti-transgender policies and roll back protections for the LGBTQ+ community. Within his first week back in office, President Trump signed executive orders declaring that the U.S. government recognizes only two sexes that are “not changeable.” As part of the orders, government-issued identifications, including passports and visas, must reflect a person’s sex at birth.
In her video, Schafer said she first dismissed Trump’s orders, saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” She first changed her gender marker to female a decade ago, she said, and her forms of ID have reflected that ever since. She had sought to replace her temporary booklet, which she received after losing her old passport last year while filming in Barcelona.
Now, she says it’s important to acknowledge that Trump’s policies are “actually happening.” Schafer said she was “shocked” upon receiving her new passport this week and acknowledged that her celebrity status doesn’t insulate her from transphobic policies.
“I do believe it is a direct result of the administration our country is currently operating under,” the model-actor continued. “I guess I’m just sort of scared of the way this stuff like slowly gets implemented.”
In his first month in office, Trump has also signed executive orders seeking to restrict gender-affirming care for LGBTQ+ youth and ban transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. Schafer said in her video the administration’s attack on transgender people and their identities is “not just talk, that this is real and it’s happening and no one … is excluded.”
Ultimately, Schafer said she could not care less about the incorrect gender on her passport — “It doesn’t change anything about me or my transness.” Despite the difficulties that might come with explaining her gender to government officials, Schafer said, “Trans people are beautiful” and “We are never going to stop existing.”
“I’m never going to stop being trans,” she said. “A letter and a passport can’t change that, and f— this administration.”
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