Male, female, X: DC giving drivers a new option on licenses

WASHINGTON – The District of Columbia is giving residents a new gender option on their driver’s licenses or identification cards issued by the city’s department of motor vehicles.

On Tuesday, the city will begin allowing residents to choose “X,” the gender-neutral identifier. Residents had previously been given only male and female as choices for gender identifier.

Any resident seeking a license can request the gender-neutral identifier, but the city says in a statement that the new option is anticipated to immediately benefit the transgender community.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser says the city has long been a leader in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights and gender issues and the change is the most recent example of the city’s “commitment to inclusivity.”