In an eight-minute video posted to her TikTok story, Euphoria star Hunter Schafer shared a sobering story about being trans in Donald Trump’s America.
“I had a bit of a harsh reality check today and felt like it’s important to share with whoever is listening,” Schafer began. She described Trump’s early executive order that redefined gender as “only two genders, male and female,” as assigned at birth.
“My initial reaction to this, because our president is a lot of talk, was, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it,’” Schafer continued. “And today, I saw it on my new passport: male.”
With that, Schafer showed the camera her new passport, which indeed had a letter M for male in the gender field.
Join the frontline of change
Be informed, be inspired, and be part of the conversation that’s shaping a queerer world with our newsletter.
Schafer explained that she first changed her gender markers as a teenager, and has never had an issue doing so until now. She had to get a replacement passport after hers was stolen while abroad, and despite filling out the necessary paperwork as she always has (including marking herself as female), the new passport she received came with that letter M.
“I’m not making this post to fearmonger or create drama or receive consolation. I don’t need it,” Schafer said. “But I do think it’s worth posting to sort of note the reality of the situation, in that it is actually happening. And I was shocked! I was shocked, because I didn’t — I don’t know, I just didn’t think it was actually going to happen.”
“I want to acknowledge my privilege, not only as a celebrity trans woman who is white and thin and can adhere to contemporary beauty standards and I can participate in all of that, and I pass, and it still happened,” she added.
part two. pic.twitter.com/1dovBhVW2s
— hunter schafer gallery. (@schaferfiles) February 21, 2025
How did Schafer’s passport issuer even know that she was a trans woman? She has a few theories: “I never had my birth certificate changed, so this has led me to believe that the agencies who are in charge of passports and this sort of thing, are now required to cross reference birth certificates,” she explained. “I don’t know exactly what changed as far as the processing goes. But this is the first time this has happened to me since I changed my gender marker — we’re coming up on a decade now, or something — and I do believe it is a direct result of the administration our country is currently operating under.”
Related
Just in case you weren’t terrified before
A new resolution specifically calls out Trump’s recent anti-trans executive orders.
“I’m just sort of scared of the way this stuff slowly gets implemented, because things just sort of start happening, I think as we’ve seen in historical rises of fascism, and everything this new administration kind of represents,” Schafer went on. “There’s a lot of talk, and then things start happening, and we start to normalize the circumstances we’re under, and I just feel like it’s important to share that it’s not just talk, that this is real and it’s happening, and no one, no matter their circumstance, no matter how wealthy or white or pretty or whatever, is excluded. This is real.”
part three. pic.twitter.com/tlpUpphEKo
— hunter schafer gallery. (@schaferfiles) February 21, 2025
Though Schafer’s story might seem grim, she ended with a message of resilience for herself, for all trans folks, and for anyone suffering under the Trump administration.
“I also want to say, I don’t give a f*ck 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,” she said. “Trans people are beautiful. We are never going to stop existing. I’m never gonna stop being trans. A letter in a passport can’t change that, and f*ck this administration.”
final part. pic.twitter.com/TXNVt5mWcD
— hunter schafer gallery. (@schaferfiles) February 21, 2025
Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.
