President Donald Trump's decision to recognise only two sexes — male and female — has sparked growing concern and confusion among the LGBTQIA+ community in the United States.
Mr Trump signed an executive order recognising only male and female sexes and declaring they cannot be changed, shortly after being sworn in as president.
He also revoked orders from the Biden administration aimed at preventing discrimination based on gender identity or sexual discrimination.
And just this week, he signed an executive order to end federal funding for gender-affirming care for children under 19 across the US.
While much is still unknown about the impact of these changes and how they will be implemented, several people who live and work in the US spoken to by the ABC say they are worried their day-to-day lives will be affected.
What is the executive order on gender?
The order declares there are only two sexes, male and female.
It defines the sexes in an unconventional way, based on the reproductive cells — large cells in females or small ones in males.
The order also suggests that humans have those cells at conception, rejecting that people can transition from one gender to another or be considered anything other than male or female.
This essentially means people who identify as non-binary aren't considered anymore.
The position conflicts with what the American Medical Association and other mainstream medical groups say: that extensive scientific research suggests sex and gender are better understood as a spectrum.
Mr Trump's order also stated it aimed to protect women's spaces from those who "self-identify" as women.
Will it actually be implemented?
Although the order has been signed, it will require much more federal action to be implemented.
The executive order tells one White House staff member to draft a bill for Congress within 30 days that would codify the definitions into law.
Federal agencies are required to tell the president within 120 days what they've done to comply with the order.
Some parts might require going through the regulatory process or passing new laws.
Lambda Legal lawyer Omar Gonzalez-Pagan said the order doesn't change the current law but rather creates "a clear signal and road map of where this administration's policies lie when it comes to transgender people".
State laws on participation in sports, bathroom use, gender-affirming care and other issues are not directly affected.
How could this impact documentation?
Those living in the US have had the option of choosing 'X' as their gender on passports since 2021.
But the order calls for passports, visas and Global Entry cards to reflect the administration's definition of sexes to be: male or female.
It suggested getting rid of the X option altogether.
The State Department, which is responsible for passports, declined to answer questions about the current state of policy.
However, a department webpage that provided information on how people could change their gender marker was taken offline.
ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio said it was unlikely that any new application to change the gender marker on a passport would be approved.
A White House spokesperson told the US media outlet NOTUS that passports that have not expired will remain valid.
But they added that people will have to comply with the new order when they apply for a new passport or renew an old one.
How are people in the US feeling?
Alexander Tries identifies as a non-binary transgender (trans) person and said there were millions of trans people in the US who would be impacted by this order.
"We're human beings … but to feel like our own environment isn't safe, it's so cruel and inhuman," they said.
"I feel that a lot of our community is confused right now, I think that's the biggest sentiment.
"We're all confused as to what actually is happening, what will happen [and] what won't happen."
Alexander said there had been a shift in how emboldened the far right had become.
And with this order now signed, they felt there wasn't any legal protection for queer people anymore.
"I am very visibly trans. I'm very visibly non-binary. Usually, I'm wearing my makeup, I go out there in to public the way I am," they said.
"But I can see how people have been emboldened, and they're not afraid to tell me that they want to kill me.
"I had a person comment the other day that they had a gun in the closet with a shell in it. This is the kind of environment that has been created, and so I am scared".
These concerns are echoed by Sarah Kate Smigiel, who identifies as non-binary and queer.
While they weren't surprised by the order, Sarah Kate said they didn't expect gender to be a "day-one focus".
"It's really set a precedent for just the forward scapegoating of queer people as kind of a platform for him to start his presidency," they said.
The unknown on what this order really means has made Sarah Kate more wary.
"I need to be careful not to get pulled over … I still have F on my licence, so if they saw that, and a government official doesn't believe I fit into that category, my licence can be taken as well," they said.
"So it's just fear, my day-to-day life is so much more careful, and I hate that.
"I don't want to live that way, but I'm just trying to protect myself in the meantime, until I get more information."
Sarah Kate said some people have had their documentation "confiscated" because of the X marker.
It has contributed to a lot of talk around documentation in the LGBTQIA+ community, with many scrambling to find resources about what to do.
Sarah Kate said they had spoken to some people who wanted all their documents to have X, while others are considering reverting back to their assigned sex at birth.
"People even within the community aren't in alignment with what they feel is the safest move because we don't know what's next," they said.
"We're feeling isolated. We're just kind of waiting for the shoe to drop."
What could this mean for people travelling to the US?
There are questions around how gender-diverse foreigners will be impacted by this order.
Canadian author and advocate Gemma Hickey flew to Seattle, Washington, a few days after the executive order on gender was signed.
Gemma said they were asked more questions than normal at the airport, including questions around their name in comparison to how they looked, by the American airline.
They described this process as "a mini interrogation" and said "these microaggressions were real".
Gemma said their delayed plane meant they were put up in a Vancouver hotel overnight.
But when they arrived at the airport the next day there were also issues.
"It seemed like the same sort of thing, another mini interrogation, more photographs, and then I was asked to say my name out loud, he did a double take [of] me [and] my ID because I look masculine.
"Then he asked me to scan my passport. And this the first time this ever happened, but my passport did not read, did not scan. I never had that problem before".
Gemma said they were eventually let on the flight and the agent said "well, you can go on sir, or whatever".
“There was just this lack of disregard for my identity and people were really rude".
They said there were so many uncertainties around the order, prompting them to call for a travel advisory, to be communicated with government officials and embassies.
That would ensure Canadians travelling to the US who identify as gender-neutral have the proper support in place, they said.
“What was surprising was how quickly it was rolled out and how fast it affected people on the ground, within a matter of days. I mean, things changed overnight," they said.
"Essentially, even my experience as a Canadian traveller was affected by by this executive order."
'Visibility is incredibly important'
Alexander Tries said "visibility" was one of the most "incredibly important" things for the LGBTQIA+ community.
"I've found that there's resistance in existence if you are politicised as a human and so I find that just being visible is so important right now," they said.
Sarah Kate agreed, saying it was important for people to remain online and stay present on there too.
"Not backing down, or taking our pronouns off our profiles or trying to kind of fly under the radar, because I don't feel that we have the privilege to do that," they said.
"I think that we're in unique positions of needing to kind of be leaders. I'm just as confused as the everyday person who doesn't have a queer platform. I'm in the position of leadership for my community at this point."
