The Wall Street Journal reports that several major airlines are making changes that will help make flying safer and more affirming for gender non-binary people, those who generally don’t identify with the male or female gender binary. Non-binary people may use they/them pronouns, change their names, or use a gender-neutral honorific like “Mx.” (They also may do none of those things, and still identify as non-binary.)
What does this have to do with flying? A non-binary person may feel that selecting female or male on their ticket doesn’t accurately represent who they are. Selecting between the two gender identities may cause anxiety or fear about being misgendered or not having pronouns respected, for example.
To accommodate this, United Continental Holdings, which operates United Express and United Airlines, will let passengers choose “ X” or “U” instead of “M” or “F” as gender markers. In this case, the “X” stands for “undisclosed” and the “U” stands for “unspecified.” Passengers will also be able to use “Mx.” instead of “Ms.” or “Mr.”
These changes will kick in at United in the next few weeks.
Other airlines jumping on the bandwagon? Southwest Airlines., Jet Blue Airways, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines. In a statement to USA Today, industry trade groups Airlines for America and the International Air Transport Association explained their decision, stating that “U.S. airlines value a culture of diversity and inclusion, both in the workplace and for our passengers, and we work hard each day to accommodate the needs of all travelers, while delivering a safe, secure and enjoyable flight experience.”
TSA agents have been trained to recognize any “gender code character included on a valid government-issued ID,” which apparently now includes non-binary options. That’s really awesome. Which states issue IDs that accurately reflect non-binary identities? Right now, just Oregon, California, Colorado, Arkansas, Minnesota, with select cities, including New York City and Washington, D.C., offering them as well.
Because these non-binary identities are not recognized yet federally, you can’t, for example, have a non-binary marker, like an “X,” on your passport. Many politicians, with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand the most recent example, do support recognizing these IDs on a federal level. It’s about time!