EXCLUSIVE: Transgender content creator Grace Hyland on travelling to the US – ‘Trans people are now anything but free’

Australian model, content creator and activist Grace Hyland has spoken to Travel Weekly about the grim realities of travelling to the US as a trans person with Donald Trump as president.  

In January this year, Trump issued an executive order stating that the federal government recognises only two sexes, male and female. In a recent Smartraveller update, the Australian government highlighted the strictness of the US passport system and warned non-binary citizens that they could face issues if their gender is marked as X on their passport.

“Although Australian passports comply with international standards for sex and gender, we can’t guarantee that a passport showing ‘X’ in the sex field will be accepted for entry or transit by another country,” it says. Other countries that don’t recognise non-binary people include Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Trans people are also facing issues. In some instances, US citizens, such as Euphoria star Hunter Schafer have received new passports with their birth gender noted, despite having identified differently for most of their lives. The US passport office is also no longer allowing people to change their gender. 

“America has always been a country that has spoken about being freedom of speech, a free country,” Hyland told Travel Weekly. “Trans people in the US are now anything but free, they are prisoners of a body they were born into.”

Hyland, who has more than 700,000 followers on TikTok, said that the new legislation will lead to greater scrutiny of trans people at US customs.

“If I’m traveling to the US, right, and my passport says female, I’m not going to have an issue,” she says.  “Because I have passing privilege, I walk down the street, people have no idea that I’m trans based on my appearance.”

People who are early on in their transition, however, could face problems: “If their passport says female, but their phenotype is still male, because maybe they’re early in their transition, then they’re going to have issues. And that’s an example of how passing privilege has a huge impact.”

This scrutiny of someone’s physical appearance could lead to significant stress for trans people travelling to the States, she added.

“A lot of people do have anxiety when it comes to going through the scanner. I don’t know whether that’s people just being scared, or whether the scanners do pick up on anything if you haven’t had the surgery. I know that it can be a very stressful time for people.”

Hyland, who came out as trans when she was 12, said the current situation reminds her of when she was 14 and her parents suggested she dress up as a boy so that she could travel whilst they were waiting for her new passport and birth certificate.

“I said ‘No, I’m not going on a trip. I don’t care about a trip. I’m not dressing up as a boy for anything. I’m never doing that, ever.’ To me this feels like how I felt 10 years ago.”

When asked if the new legislation would impact her decision to visit the US, Hyland said: “I don’t see why I would go. It’s lost its magic now.”

While Hylands said she would consider travelling to some of the blue states in America, the whole country is tainted at the moment.

“Why would I spend my money going to a country that’s going to treat me and my sisters and brothers like that, to be honest there’s just no reason why I would do that.”