“I had a bit of a harsh reality check today, and felt like it’s important to share with whoever is listening,” Hunter Schafer said in a recent TikTok. Speaking to camera like this, she notes, is not something she does often, but the actor had to address the new passport she had in her hands—and what it said about the ongoing struggle for trans rights during the Trump administration.
The Euphoria star continued: “On the first day of Trump’s presidency, he signed an executive order to declare only two genders recognized by the state, male and female, assigned at birth.
“As a result of this, Bureau of Consular Affairs has frozen passport applications requesting a gender marker change or renewals or new applications with the gender marker differing from an applicant’s gender assigned at birth,” Schafer explained.
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Initially, Schafer admits, she didn’t take the executive order seriously. “I just didn’t think it was actually going to happen,” she said of Trump’s mission to smite what he has called “gender ideology extremism.” “I was like, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ And today, I saw it on my new passport.”
She then showed the camera the “M’’ on her new travel document, indicating that the US government officially recognizes her as a male citizen. (Her previous passport, which was stolen in Barcelona, correctly identified her as female, as did the emergency replacement that she was issued.) Schafer added that she had been identified as female in other official documents, including her driver’s licence, since her teens.
Previously, citizens in the United States could select the gender marker listed on their passport, including, as of 2022, the option “X” for “for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-confirming individuals.” However, Trump’s executive order rolled those permissions back, declaring that the male and female sexes “are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality…‘Sex’ is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of ‘gender identity.’”
Schafer described her most recent visit to the Los Angeles Federal Passport Agency, saying that the renewal process was the same as previous ocassions. She marked herself as female, but when she received it, the marker had been changed to male.
“I wanna acknowledge my privilege as a celebrity trans woman who is white and thin and can adhere to contemporary beauty standards—and it still happened,” she said.
“I never had my birth certificate changed, so this has led me to believe that the agencies who are in charge of passports are now required to cross-reference birth certificates,” Schafer added.
“I don’t give a fuck that they put an ‘M’ on my passport. It doesn’t change really anything about me or my transness. However, it does make life a little harder.”
Schafer said she would find out next week when travelling abroad how interactions with border patrol agents would go. “I just want to say trans people are beautiful. We are never going to stop existing,” she concluded defiantly. “I’m never going to stop being trans. A letter and a passport can’t change that and fuck this administration.”
Just this month, Trump signed another executive order banning trans women and girls from participating in women’s sports. He has also restricted gender-affirming care—like puberty blockers and hormone therapy—for trans youth, though the latter has been temporarily blocked by a judge thanks to lawsuits brought by civil rights groups.
Peers and people across the entertainment, fashion, and culture industries have shown support for Schafer’s statement. Designer Ludovic de Saint Sernin posted a photo of Schafer in his designs with a quote from her post. “I love you,” he declared. Ariana Grande also reposted a screenshot from Schafer’s TikTok with subtitles from her statement.
At yesterday evening’s 2025 Independent Spirit Awards, where Schafer was both a nominee (for her film Cuckoo) and a presenter, Natasha Rothwell used her acceptance speech for best ensemble cast in a new scripted series (for How to Die Alone) to champion trans rights.
“Know that you are not alone,” she said, addressing the “trans community under attack right now.” “I see you. We all see you. We stand with you.”
You can support the ACLU’s efforts to fight the Trump administration’s anti-trans executive orders by donating here.
