US Trans Influencer 'Will Seek Legal Action' After Passport Marks Her 'M' Despite Sex-Change Surgery

A transgender TikTok star has claimed she is at risk after the gender marker on her passport was changed to male, despite her transition, triggering outrage within the LGBTQ+ community and among its allies.

The controversy arose when Zaya Perysian, a social media influencer with over 4.9 million TikTok followers, shared a video revealing that, although she had requested her passport to reflect her female gender, authorities had listed her sex as male. She blamed the decision on Donald Trump's administration, alleging that it was part of a broader effort to erase transgender identities from official records.

The 'Big Ugly M'

Pointing at what she described as the 'big ugly M' under the 'sex' category, Perysian explained that she had undergone gender-affirming surgery, and all her other documents correctly identify her as female. She expressed concerns that this discrepancy now puts her in danger while travelling, as her passport remains the only official document that could forcibly 'out' her in foreign countries.

Authorities, however, defended the decision, claiming they were aligning Perysian's passport details with previous records. It is believed that her childhood passport—issued before her transition—served as a reference point, leading officials to reject her request for a change. According to Perysian, if an individual has ever held a passport listing their sex as different from their current gender identity, the authorities will now refuse to honour their transition.

Social Media Outrage Over Passport Gender Change

Perysian, who has 285,000 Instagram followers, took to TikTok to voice her frustration. 'In case you're wondering what it's like being transgender under this new administration,' she told her followers, holding up the passport that failed to recognise her identity.

'They changed the gender to male because of Donald Trump,' she claimed, visibly upset. 'The only thing that them denying to put "female" on my passport does is put me in danger while travelling. That's all it does. I'm in danger now!'

While her supporters were quick to express their sympathy, some questioned whether the issue was an intentional act of discrimination or simply a bureaucratic decision made for the sake of consistency in government records.

Transphobia or Bureaucratic Mishap?

Perysian remains convinced that the decision was malicious, claiming it is part of an effort to intimidate and erase transgender people.

'They are only doing this to scare people like me because they don't want us in public life. They want us to hide in fear and be scared of them,' she insisted. 'But trust me, I'm not going anywhere. Trans people have been here, and we're staying. I will fight this.'

She also made it clear that she intended to pursue legal action, believing this to be a violation of her constitutional rights under the Equal Rights Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on sex.

'It's just a violation of my rights in general,' she stated. She also pointed out that her application for a gender marker update was still visible on the government's website, suggesting that officials had ignored it.

'Y'all will honour it, trust,' she warned. 'This is only the beginning, babe. Y'all done pissed off the wrong transformer!'

Crackdown on Gender Identity Changes

The backlash against the altered passport aligns with broader concerns about recent policy changes affecting transgender individuals. Alice Winterland, a transgender activist, issued a stark warning, claiming that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had ordered staff to halt all gender marker changes on federal identification documents.

'If transgender individuals haven't updated their IDs yet, it's too late,' Winterland stated in a viral video. 'Any pending requests are frozen, and they will not be processed. Unfortunately, that also means that anyone who has paid for these changes has likely lost their money.'

Winterland also warned against renewing passports unnecessarily, claiming she had received reports of trans people having their passports confiscated at government agencies. 'I don't know how border agents have been instructed to handle transgender individuals, but I do know that the State Department is actively working to invalidate our identities,' she said.

Trans Woman 'Banned' From Travelling

The concerns voiced by Winterland appear to have been validated by another transgender woman, Gentle Reality, who claimed she was denied a passport entirely.

Reality, a popular TikTok user, alleged that when she attempted to renew her passport at a Los Angeles passport agency, her application was refused.

'They are, effectively, banning me from travelling, though they won't call it a travel ban,' she said. 'They first offered me a passport with a male gender marker, even though my legal sex is female. When I agreed, they changed their tune and said they wouldn't be issuing me a passport at all.'

Reality claims she attempted to escalate the matter by speaking to a supervisor, only to be met with stonewalling and, eventually, the threat of arrest.

Trump Administration's Anti-LGBTQ+ Moves

The growing reports of trans individuals facing difficulties with their identification documents come in the wake of Donald Trump's executive order, which removes transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people from federal identification records.

Additionally, Marco Rubio has ordered the State Department to stop issuing passports with an 'X' gender designation, arguing that official documents should reflect a person's sex, not their gender identity. This move, which stems from Trump's policy, directly impacts gender-fluid individuals and anyone whose legal sex does not align with their gender identity.

These developments have sparked outrage among LGBTQ+ activists and allies, who fear this marks the beginning of further restrictions on transgender rights.