CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses transphobia.
Euphoria star Hunter Schafer has copped a rude shock, with her newly issued passport listing her sex as male. The 26-year-old trans actor and activist shared the news on TikTok, giving us all a reality check on the Trump administration’s latest moves.
“I had a bit of a harsh reality check today, and felt like it’s important to share with whoever is listening,” Schafer said in her TikTok Story.
She explained that on Trump’s first day back in office, he signed an executive order recognising only two genders — male and female, assigned at birth.
Schafer, known for her roles in Euphoria and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, didn’t hold back. “I was like, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it,’ and today, I saw it on my new passport,” she said, showing her passport with an ‘M’ for male.
The actress, who’s been living as her authentic self for nearly a decade, had her gender markers changed in her teens. All her IDs, including previous passports, have listed her as female without any drama — until now.
“Now, to specify, my gender markers were first changed in my teens, when I first got my driver’s license and then passports following, all have been female since then,” Schafer explained.
“Hasn’t really been a problem.”
Schafer thinks the agencies in charge of passports are now cross-referencing birth certificates, which she never had changed. She sees this as a direct result of the current administration’s policies.
“It’s not just talk. This is real, and it’s happening,” Schafer warned. She acknowledged her privilege as a celebrity but pointed out that no one is exempt from these changes, regardless of their status.
Despite the setback, Schafer’s not letting it get her down. “I don’t give a fuck that they put an M on my passport. It doesn’t change really anything about me or my transness,” she said. However, she did admit it might make life a bit trickier, especially when travelling.
“Personally, I mean I haven’t tested it out yet, I’ll found out next week when I have to travel abroad with my new passport, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to come along with having to out myself to like border patrol agents and that whole gig much more often than I would like to or is really necessary,” Schafer added.
Schafer has received a sea of support since posting the video. One user on X commented, “Imagine building yourself up piece by piece, with courage, with resilience only for a system to try and strip it away with the stroke of a pen. It’s not just a letter on a passport. It’s the weight of being told, over and over, that who you are isn’t valid in the eyes of those who hold power. It’s the exhaustion of having to explain, to justify, to prove your existence to strangers who will never understand what that fight feels like.
“To those affected you’re not alone. The frustration, the anger, the deep, quiet ache of being unseen we feel it with you. Your identity is not defined by policies, nor can it be erased by a government form. You are real. You are whole. And no system, no rule, no letter on a piece of paper can take that from you. We will keep standing, keep fighting, keep pushing for a world where you don’t have to constantly prove your humanity. Because you never should have had to in the first place.”
This passport drama comes hot on the heels of Trump’s recent executive order banning trans women and girls from women’s sports. It’s clear the administration is taking a hardline stance on gender issues, with Trump claiming to be fighting against what he calls “militant transgender ideology”.
As for Schafer, she’s not about to let a letter on her passport define her. “Trans people are beautiful. We are never going to stop existing, I am never going to stop being trans,” she declared. “A letter on a passport can’t change that. And fuck this administration.”
Lead image: TikTok
