When Zaya Perysian tore open the envelope containing her newly issued U.S. passport, she didn’t feel pride, relief, or excitement. She felt erasure.
Printed beside the word “Sex” was an “M”—a stark contradiction to her lived identity as a transgender woman. And she knew exactly who to hold accountable: Donald Trump.
Perysian, a 22-year-old influencer from California with a sharp TikTok presence and a louder sense of self, didn’t let the State Department’s decision slide. First came the viral videos. Then came the federal lawsuit. She joined six others—trans and nonbinary Americans—challenging what they say is a discriminatory rollback of identity recognition under Trump’s renewed tenure in office.
At the heart of their legal firestorm is an executive order Trump signed on Day One of his return to the White House. It mandates that all federal documents, including passports, reflect “biological sex”—male or female—with no room for gender identity or nonbinary recognition.
For Perysian, who transitioned in 2020 and legally updated every other ID she holds, the passport stands as a glaring exception. “This is something that has been forced upon me,” she said. “It’s really unfair and kind of crazy, but that’s why we’re fighting it.”
Her expedited application was filed on January 23. Trump was already back in power. Less than a week later, the passport arrived—not with the corrected “F” she requested, but with an official notice stating her sex had been “corrected” to male.
Now, in a Boston federal courtroom, the case presses forward—watched closely by advocates, critics, and officials alike. The Justice Department, defending the policy, argues it doesn’t unlawfully discriminate and doesn’t prevent transgender Americans from traveling. Instead, they say it’s about uniformity across federal agencies.
But the plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU, say it’s far more than semantics. They call it dangerous, unconstitutional, and a direct reversal of years of progress—including the 2022 policy under President Joe Biden that introduced an “X” marker for nonbinary individuals and allowed applicants to self-identify as “M” or “F” without medical documentation.
“This executive order made it impossible for transgender, nonbinary, and intersex Americans to have accurate federal identity documents,” said an ACLU attorney involved in the case. And that, they argue, leaves people vulnerable—especially when traveling in countries hostile to gender-diverse individuals.
The judge overseeing the case, Julia Kobick, didn’t mince words during a recent hearing. She challenged the government’s stance with pointed questions and voiced doubt about the claim that gender identity holds no legal weight. “It seems to deny that gender identity is something worth recognizing,” she said.
As for Perysian, she isn’t backing down.
“At the end of the day, I’m a woman,” she said. “I don’t care how many people agree or disagree. I live every day as a woman. I surround myself with people who see me and respect me as a woman.”
The courtroom battle is far from over—but for Zaya, it’s already personal.
