Upcoming X gender markers on Canadian passports
Two nice bits of news today!
The first is that Canada will have an X option on passports soonish:
Transgender travellers will soon have another option to tick off on their passport other than "male" or "female."
Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said the government is working to update its gender identity policies right across federal departments, and they will include a revamped travel document.
"The prime minister is very mindful of perhaps a third box or an ability to mark something other than male or female. This work is being undertaken at Passport Canada," she said. "Individual ministers and (people) within their departments are recognizing that this bill has been introduced, that there is work that needs to continue to be taken."
The second is that Actors Access now have a category for trans and nonbinary actors, the data of which is handled sensitively:
Recently we added Transgender on Actors Access actor profiles. After actors indicate whether they can play “male” or “female,” they can also check a box indicating whether they are transgender. We’ve now updated that option to, Transgender / Non-Binary.
The actor remains in complete control and chooses whether they want to include this information. It will not appear on Actors Access resumes. And checking the Transgender / Non-Binary box will not preclude actors from appearing in searches for non-transgender roles.
If an actor chooses to include this information, a select group of established Casting Directors who have been given the ability to search our database will be able to search for and audition talent who are authentic to these roles. We are highly sensitive to an actor’s privacy and do our best to strike a balance between giving talent the opportunity to make themselves available to Casting and limiting access to this information.
