Hunter Schafer, the talented transgender actress known for her breakout role as Jules Vaughn in HBO’s Euphoria, took to TikTok to share a jarring personal update: her newly issued U.S. passport lists her sex as “male.” The 26-year-old star attributed this change to a controversial executive order signed by President Donald Trump on his first day back in office, January 20, 2025. The order, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” mandates that federal agencies recognize only two sexes—male and female—based solely on an individual’s sex assigned at birth. For Schafer, and potentially many others in the transgender community, this policy has already begun to reshape everyday realities in ways that are both frustrating and deeply personal.
A Harsh Reality Check
In an eight-minute video posted to her TikTok story, Schafer explained that she had to renew her passport after it was stolen while she was filming in Barcelona last year. She followed the same process she’d used before, marking “female” on her application—consistent with the gender markers on her driver’s license and previous passports, which she’d updated in her teens. But when she picked up her new passport from the Federal Passport Agency in Los Angeles, she was stunned to see an “M” under the sex designation. “My initial reaction to this, because our president is a lot of talk, was, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it,’” Schafer said in the video. “And today, I saw it on my new passport: male.”
Schafer speculated that the change might stem from her birth certificate, which she never updated to reflect her gender identity. She believes the Trump administration’s policy now requires passport agencies to cross-reference birth certificates, overriding an applicant’s self-identified gender. This shift marks a stark departure from previous U.S. policy, which, since April 2022 under President Joe Biden, allowed Americans to select “X” as a gender marker for nonbinary individuals and permitted transgender people to align their passport gender with their lived identity.
The Executive Order: What It Means
Trump’s executive order, enacted on his first day back in the White House, doesn’t mince words. It declares that “there are only two sexes, male and female,” which “are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” The directive explicitly instructs federal agencies, including the Bureau of Consular Affairs (the body responsible for issuing passports), to ensure that government-issued identification—like passports, visas, and Global Entry cards—reflects an individual’s sex assigned at birth. The order also eliminates the “X” gender marker option and prohibits federal funds from promoting what it calls “gender ideology,” defined as “the idea that there is a vast spectrum of genders that are disconnected from one’s sex.”
For Schafer, this isn’t just a bureaucratic hiccup—it’s a policy with real-world consequences. “I don’t give a f— that they put an M on my passport,” she said defiantly. “It doesn’t change really anything about me or my transness. However, it does make life a little harder.” She anticipates challenges when traveling internationally, particularly next week when she’ll use the new passport for the first time. “I’m pretty sure it’s gonna come along with having to out myself to Border Patrol agents and that whole gig much more often than I would like to or is really necessary,” she added.
A Voice for the Community
Schafer didn’t share her story to garner sympathy or “create drama,” as she put it. Instead, she wanted to shine a light on the tangible impact of the administration’s actions. “I do think it’s worth posting to sort of note the reality of the situation and that it is actually happening,” she said. “I was shocked because I didn’t think it was actually going to happen.” As one of Hollywood’s most prominent transgender actresses—known not just for Euphoria but also for roles in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and the upcoming Blade Runner 2099—Schafer acknowledged her privilege. “I want to acknowledge my privilege as a celebrity trans woman who is white and thin and can adhere to contemporary beauty standards,” she noted. “And it still happened.”
Her message extended beyond her own experience, touching on the broader implications for the transgender community. “Thinking about other trans women who this might also be happening to, or other trans people, the list only gets longer as far as the intricacies that come along with the difficulty that this brings into real life,” she said. Indeed, advocacy groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have already filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of transgender and nonbinary individuals, arguing that the policy is discriminatory and unconstitutional. The legal battle, which names Trump, the U.S. State Department, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as defendants, signals that this issue is far from settled.
Defiance and Resilience
Despite the frustration, Schafer’s video ended on a note of resilience and defiance that has resonated widely. “Trans people are beautiful,” she declared. “We are never going to stop existing. I’m never going to stop being trans. A letter on a passport can’t change that. And f— this administration.” Her words echo a sentiment shared by many in the face of Trump’s broader anti-trans agenda, which includes additional executive orders banning transgender individuals from military service and barring trans women from women’s sports.
The reaction from fans and supporters has been swift and heartfelt. Posts on X reflect a mix of outrage and solidarity, with users calling the policy “unnecessary and heartbreaking” and expressing support for Schafer and the wider trans community. “I feel so bad for Hunter. Trans people don’t deserve this,” one user wrote. Another added, “My heart goes out to all trans people… trans people will always be visible in this world no matter what.”
What’s Next?
Schafer’s experience is likely just the tip of the iceberg. As the Trump administration doubles down on its stance—evident in the president’s inaugural speech promising a “colorblind and merit-based” society that recognizes only two genders—transgender Americans face an uncertain future. For Schafer, who has been a vocal advocate for trans rights since her teens (she was a plaintiff in a 2016 ACLU lawsuit against North Carolina’s infamous “bathroom bill”), this moment feels personal yet universal. “I’m just sort of scared of the way this stuff slowly gets implemented,” she admitted, drawing parallels to “historical rises in fascism.”
As she prepares to travel abroad and navigate the practical fallout of her new passport, Schafer remains unbowed. Her story is a reminder that policies like these don’t just change documents—they ripple through lives, forcing individuals to confront new layers of scrutiny and vulnerability. Yet, as she so powerfully stated, a letter on a passport can’t erase identity. For Hunter Schafer and countless others, the fight for recognition and dignity continues—no executive order can change that.
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