New "X" Option for Gender in Australian Passports

New passport guidelines intended to eliminate discrimination against transgender and intersex people will include an "X" option for gender, the Australian government announced Thursday.

The Associated Press reports that the "X" gender option will be reserved for intersex people, understood as those "who are biologically not entirely male or female." Transgender people will be able to select the option of male or female provided the choice is supported by a doctor's note. Transgender people will not be allowed to choose "X."

"Previously, gender was a choice of only male or female, and people were not allowed to change their gender on their passport without having had a sex-change operation," reports the AP. "The U.S. dropped the surgery prerequisite for transgender people's passports last year."

The "X" option for gender may be adopted by any country that complies with the International Civil Aviation Organization's requirements for machine-readable passports, the AP reports.