Calling Intersex AVENites!

[kaysir]

G'day to my fellow Gender inhabitants! As you may know, this week is Asexual Awareness Week, and Intersex Day falls on the 26th. The Project Team wants to shed some light on the existence on intersex people and hopefully share some of their experiences. If you or anyone you know is intersex, we'd love to hear from you!

 

There are no set questions for anyone who might be interested, but I'll throw some out just to get the gears moving:

• What is something you wish more people knew about intersex people?
• How has being intersex impacted your life if at all?
• If you are comfortable saying, how do you qualify as intersex?
• Do you know of any celebrities or people of status who happen to be intersex?

 

And if you have anything else you want to say, please do!

[AnarchistTactician]

What IS intersex? I never knew whether it referred to two sets of genitalia, wanting to be both binary sexes at the same time, or some sort of thing that could be likened to bisexual. 

[kaysir]

4 minutes ago, AnarchistSpooktician said:

What IS intersex? I never knew whether it referred to two sets of genitalia, wanting to be both binary sexes at the same time, or some sort of thing that could be likened to bisexual. 

 

Intersex, when split into root words, means "between sexes." It refers to the simultaneous occurrence of traits that generally occur individually for males OR females- mixed genitalia, not necessarily two sets, and definitely not two functioning sets. Someone who is intersex has genitalia, hormones, and/or chromosomes considered abnormal together. You can read up on it on the site for the Intersex Society of North America, Planned Parenthood, and more, including the Sex area of the gender definitions master list:

 

 

[FerlynnGoldbeard]

When I was born I was assigned a female gender, and I still consider myself female today. Growing up, I never noticed that there was anything different about me. When I became a teenager and didn't get my period, my doctor at the time told me not to worry. He said that there were plenty of people who were late bloomers and that I shouldn't be seriously worried until I was about 18. At first I just went with it because I didn't know any better, but after doing some research when I was in high school and after some convincing by my mother, I went to my gynecologist for the first time when I was 17. They did some blood work and I was sent to have an ultrasound. They weren't able to find ovaries or a uterus, so they had me go have an MRI. Initially their thinking was that my internal sex organs hadn't developed enough, but the MRI revealed that I actually didn't have female sex organs. Instead, I had underdeveloped testis. 

 

After that, my gynecologist did more blood work which included a test of my sex chromosomes. At that point, I did some more research and came to the conclusion on my own that I had androgen insensitivity syndrome. If you don't know, androgen is a hormone that regulates the development of male characteristics. (Females also produce androgen but in much smaller amounts.) Essentially my body is unable to process androgen in sufficient amounts, which is why I developed physically as a female. 

 

My gynecologist confirmed my suspicions and referred me to a urologist and endocrinologist in Chicago. They explained what was going on with me in greater detail. They warned me that the testis's could eventually become cancerous, and if I wanted them removed it was best to do it when I was young. They said that the likelihood of them actually becoming cancerous was very low, but possible. Six months or so later I had them removed. I decided to go through with the surgery for two reasons. For one, cancer, even the idea of cancer, is terrifying. Secondly, having the testis's inside of me made me feel like I was less of a woman. I felt like somehow I couldn't call myself a woman as long as that was part of me, so I removed that part.

 

The surgery itself was done laparoscopically, and other that being stiff and sore for a few days, I wasn't in any pain and I could walk right away. They started me on hormone therapy, and I go back about once a year to fill my prescription and have a check up.

 

What do I wish more people knew? Honestly, I wish that more people knew about intersex people and other genders at all. Our culture (I'm from the United States) generally believes that two genders exist; female and male. Outside of that, people don't seem to know or care about other genders. In my opinion, the general atmosphere, at least in the older generations, is "this is our bubble, and we don't discuss or acknowledge anything that doesn't fit inside of our bubble." There's an unfortunate stigma when it comes to non-binary genders and sexualities, which thankfully we are starting remove. Like being homosexual or transsexual, being intersex is something you're born with and have no control over. All you have control over is how you handle it.

 

Being intersex hasn't really changed my life at all other than I have to take estrogen. I still feel female. They warned me that I may start to feel less "asexual" as I continued taking it, and my desires may change, but I'm 20 now and still very asexual. So far, the main negative that comes with taking estrogen (I take transdermal estradiol) is that it dries the hell out your skin where you put the patch on. I do tell potential partners about my condition, and it's usually in the same conversation where I tell them that I'm asexual. They either understand and are willing to continue with the relationship, or they aren't and it ends there. Honestly, I think people care more about me being asexual than they do about me being intersex.

 

To any young intersex individuals out there, please remember that your doctor is going to do everything they can to help you, but I can't stress enough that you must do your own research. Learn about it, about other peoples experiences, see if you want to take the same steps they have like having the surgery or not. It's never a bad idea to seek out a second opinion in the medical field if you feel unsure or are uncomfortable with your doctor. It's your life, and ultimately you're in control of it. You decide what happens.

 

I'm happy to take any questions that I can answer if anyone has them.

[AdsilaMika]

I have partial androgen insensitivity syndrome. I has hormones and 2 surgeries to look male. 

 

From being 2 I’ve insisted on being as female as I can. 

 

My my parents were expecting a girl, as scans didn’t show a penis. It was underdeveloped, with undescended testes. The main way it impacted my life I guess is that my parents and I never bonded, and I left home at 19 and never bothered with them again. 

 

I wish people knew knew that I’m just a person, and that I’m not an alien from a world where there’s more than male or female.

 

i have very little facial and body hair, wide hips, but a deeper voice than they expect. 

 

Other syndromes show visible differences (such as downs, or turners), but mine is virtually invisible. My mind is in turmoil. 

 

Im asexual because quite honestly, I don’t know where to put myself. 

 

In nature, the make (eg. Peacock) is the showy and colourful one. But for humans, the make is often the least showy. I want people to know that plaid isn’t for everyone. 

 

This is will go on for all of my life. 

 

I want doctors to know this, too. 

[Janus the Fox]

When I was born, I had  what's known as Hypospadias, for a time that was known to be an Intersexuality problem.  Among other birth defects, it meant the male genitalia was birthed too small, curved and the urethra opening farther down from the head, being placed anywhere along the shaft, scrotum or anus.  Due to the genitals being too small, the issue was never picked up by doctors, not until being stood potty trained when it was known something was wrong, that was when i was out of nappies, late at age 4, around this time problems also emerged with the foreskin being too tight, causing infections, I wasn't able to communicate anything else until later around 6.

 

1991 was a big year with corrective surgery and every 1-2 years later began regular check-ups with specialists charting each milestone being late or underdeveloped for my age and gender.  There where other kids much worse than I, one I knew requiring a full gender reassignment, just to be able to properly void the bowel and bladder without future problems, that I can only sympathise of an awful existence if having a full male mindset and no possibility of reconstruction.

 

Other than that, I had an incomplete late physical puberty, undescended testis , I developed breast tissue though debatable was due to being an obese pre-teen, poor body hair displacement and a feminine like stature.  I always had blood tests that come back lacking enough testosterone or any puberty developmental hormone at all.  I roughly reached lower normal levels at the end of puberty, which may have been around 21-22.

 

I connected to intersexuality, if very mild, once there was a study that put the Hypospadias together.  Also suggestible that being neuro-developmentally delayed being a Tourettes-Asperger, may have played some part in the lack of a complete puberty, late unfinished puberty and the lack of gender and fluidity, asexuality, wider romanticism and varied lower than normal libido.

 

The mind took a rather empty discourse compared, never being aware at all until long into my 20's, I still put that as non/a/gendered, a masculine expression with a fluidity into feminine realms, the homo-romantic relationship facilitated that.  There's many times id wished to express more female, again, mild and maybe due to having a unusual puberty. Wondered a little if I could developed more female.

 

There's this grey area of intersexuality that's rarely known, being intersex does not mean just having both genitals, but also this physical developmental difference regardless of actual configuration, or the birthing of so called defects.  Back in 1991, it would be corrected, no if or buts, with an automatic circumcision, now its either done immediately after birth due to being easily spotted, avoid childhood medical-sexual trauma at the worst age possible at age 4 where a child develops a sense of their own body and avoid complications later on.  Or it's now completely left alone as long as it don't interfere with bladder or bowel function and let when teenage to have some corrective surgery if or when there's some sexual developmental libido troubles, like difficulties with masturbation or sex.

 

"qualifying" well... its a grey area, nobody really qualifies with the social construct, most are quickly diagnosed as intersex by professionals.

 

I've only seen a few documentaries on correctional intersexuality, and other documentaries living life with Hypospadias.

[LeChat]

It was interesting to read everyone's stories; I didn't know that some doctors might not detect intersex individuals until later on in life. I thought that, with all of the tests that they do before and after an infant is born, that they'd detect it immediately before or after their birth.

[Janus the Fox]

Yeah there's growing visibility for the more invisible sections of intersexuality, especially if such physical genitals appear as small or normal, there's also potentially many others that could develop quite differently at the start of puberty.  This also fits syndromes involving gender chromosomal difference for example, many of those can have neither or both physical gender-isms and/or develop anywhere along the gender/sex spectrum's.  For such conditions without it being regarded as an impairment for example, should, I think be considered part of this growing intersexuality spectrum and community in some form.

[Enne Kristin]

Hi! I am camab and inter*. Just found out because of some research I did on my births behalf. Was unsettling and disturbing...