Intersex
|
Intersex people are people born with any variation in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, or genitals that do not fit the typical definitions of male or female bodies.[3]
An intersex person may have any gender identity. They may agree with their assigned gender; in this case, they would be described as either ipsogender or cisgender, although the usage of the term cisgender is controversial with regard to intersex people.[4]
They may think of themselves as transgender, genderqueer, nonbinary, etc. An intersex person who feels that their intersex status has influenced their gender identity may identify as intergender or amalgagender. Some intersex people think of their intersex status as belonging to the broader range of LGBTIQAP identities.
Not everyone who identifies as nonbinary is necessarily intersex, and instead may be dyadic (not intersex). Other common terms for "not intersex" are perisex[5][6] and endosex.[7][8]
Intersex was one of the 56 genders made available on Facebook in 2014.[9]
Dyadism
Dyadism is a common kind of sexism, the belief that humans are strictly dyadic, having only two sexes. In action, dyadism is discrimination against intersex people. That discrimination can include erasure, harassment, medical malpractice, lack of marriage rights, religious intolerance, human rights violations, and hate crimes against intersex people. Dyadism is also the basis of other forms of sexism, including binarism, the belief that people have only two genders.
Because of dyadism, doctors think of intersex conditions as an irregularity. As a result, intersex people were given so-called "normalizing" or "corrective" surgeries, often at a very young age, and without their consent.
Notable people
Some notable people who were born intersex and define their gender outside the Western gender binary include:
- Canadian writer and filmmaker Alec Butler (b. 1959) says they/he[10] is two-spirit, intersex, and nonbinary.[11]
- American visual artist and musician Florian-Ayala Fauna (she/her[12]) is an intersex person identifying as trans-femme[12], androgyne, and partially woman.[13]
- Salvadoran-American filmmaker, actor, model River Gallo says they[14][15] are genderqueer[16] and genderfluid.[17]
- British comedian, counsellor, and playwright Seven Graham (b. 1969) is transmasc[18] and nonbinary.[19]
- Hans Lindahl, Communications Director at interAct, an intersex advocacy group,[20] is trans, nonbinary, and genderqueer.[21]
- Indian activist Gopi Shankar Madurai (b. 1991), founder of Srishti Madurai, a student collective for gender and sexual minorities.[22] says ze[23] is nonbinary and genderqueer.[24]
- New Zealander Mani Bruce Mitchell (b. 1953), founder of the Intersex Trust Aotearoa New Zealand (ITANZ), describes themself[25] as intersex and nonbinary.[26]
- American activist Jim Sinclair (b. 1940), one of the founders of Autism Network International (ANI)[27], is intersex and was subjected as a child to conversion therapy in attempts to make them conform to their assigned gender. In 1997 Jim wrote that they were "proudly neuter, both physically and socially."[28]
- Hungarian writer, psycholinguist, editor, poet, and translator Bogi Takács (b. 1983) is an agender intersex person.[29]
- Latinx American writer Hida Viloria (b. 1968), author of Born Both: An Intersex Life, says s/he[30] is genderfluid.[31]
- American writer Gigi Raven Wilbur (b. 1955), one of the creators of Celebrate Bisexuality Day, says s/he[32][33][34][35] is intersex and underwent nonconsensual surgery and masculinizing hormone treatments as a child. Some of the words Gigi has used to identify are "hermaphrodite", "third gender", and "ladyboy".[36]
Intersex-exclusive identities
Many intersex people are binary men or women, but some intersex people have a nonbinary gender. Certain nonbinary genders have been coined with the intent that only intersex people can identify as them:
- Amalgagender: A gender that is affected by, or mixed into one's intersex identity.[37]
- Duogender: One's gender is a combination of male and female as a result of being intersex.[38]
Additionally, some people feel that intergender (a gender identity that is between the binary genders of female and male, and may be a mix of both) should only be used by intersex people. See the intergender page for more details.
See also
There are 10 alternative pride flags for this identity. Go to gallery! |
References
- ↑ 2021 Gender Census.
- ↑ Carpenter, Morgan (5 July 2013). "An intersex flag". Organisation Intersex International Australia. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018.
- ↑ "Free & Equal Campaign Fact Sheet: Intersex" (PDF). United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ↑ Viloria, Hilda (18 August 2014). "Caught in the Gender Binary Blind Spot: Intersex Erasure in Cisgender Rhetoric". hildaviloria.com. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
As an intersex person with a natal “body/identity match”, I too fall into this gender binary blind spot. I noticed it the minute I announced, at the aforementioned New Year’s Eve party, “So I guess I would be cisgender then, because I was born intersex and I feel intersex.” Some people seemed bothered by my statement, because it troubles the intended use of the term cisgender, and specifically “cisgender privilege”.
- ↑ Lanquist, L.A. "Definitions". Trans Narrative. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ↑ "What tf is perisex". Correcting Bisexuality Definitions One at a Time. 17 July 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ↑ "What is intersex?". Intersex Human Rights Australia. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ↑ Mx. Anunnaki Ray Marquez (12 December 2019). "Biological and Anatomical Sex: Endosex, Intersex & Altersex". Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ↑ Eve Shapiro, Gender circuits: Bodies and identities in a technological age. Unpaged.
- ↑ Butler, Alec (22 April 2016). "At 12 I grew a beard and had a period". BBC News. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ↑ Helkio, Raymond. "Alec Butler's "Rough Paradise" – Living Life Shamelessly". theBUZZ. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Florian-Ayala Fauna. "About". florian-93.com. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ↑ Fauna, Florian-Ayala [@bloodfawn93] (February 12, 2018). "Hey I'm Florian - I'm a visual artist, musician, writer, and occult practitioner of a Thelemic/Crowley based nature. #VisibleWomen (woman part is partially true tho, more androgyne and proud to be intersex :3 ) florian-93.com uncertain.bandcamp.com" – via Twitter.
- ↑ River Gallo's Instagram bio
- ↑ https://www.rivergallo.com/about
- ↑ "Meet River Gallo, The GLAAD Award-Winning Trailblazer Fusing Activism And Art". MTV News. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ↑ Gallo, River (21 February 2019). "What I Learned Being Out as Intersex on Dating Apps". Salty. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ↑ Seven Graham's Instagram bio as of 25 August 2020
- ↑ Graham, Seven [@AddictionExpert] (13 September 2019). "@GrenvilleAndrew @marumatchboxuk @marumatchbox I'm a part of @bbcglobalminds and ? some questionnaires let me specify 3rd gender - #intersex #nonbinary. Others just give 'prefer not to say' #annoying! Also ?s your deal with @BBC. @BBCNews Some surveys just harvest unrelated data" – via Twitter.
- ↑ Karabaic, Lillian (10 July 2019). "The Cost of Being Intersex ft. Hans Lindahl". Oh My Dollar!. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ↑ @hiHelloHans (June 24, 2019). "Just realized that of LGBTQIA, I am 5/7: -Bi -Trans (umbrella: nonbinary/genderqueer) -Queer -Intersex -Asexual (umbrella: demi) can my prize be being left alone" – via Twitter.
- ↑ "Breaking the Intersex Silence in South Asia: An interview with Gopi Shankar". APCOM. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ↑ Pareek, Shreya (27 November 2015). "At 19, Ze Came out of the Closet. Today, Ze Is Helping the LGBTQIA Community Live with Dignity". The Better India. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ↑ Nair, Shalini (6 June 2019). "Start with education system for change, says intersex activist". The Indian Express. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ↑ "Mani Bruce Mitchell". ILGA. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ↑ Paletta, Daniele (26 October 2018). "ILGA meets… Mani Bruce Mitchell, intersex human rights defender". ILGA. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
my sense of self consolidated, very early on, though we had no words back then I saw myself as non-binary, as queer, as intersex.
- ↑ Shapiro, Joseph (26 June 2006). "Autism Movement Seeks Acceptance, Not Cures". NPR. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
- ↑ Sinclair, Jim (1997). "Self-introduction to the Intersex Society of North America". Archived from the original on 7 February 2009.
- ↑ Takács, Bogi (2 September 2018). "Why "women + nonbinary" is not a good idea". Bogi Reads the World. Retrieved 13 November 2020. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ↑ Pham, Larissa (20 March 2017). "Intersex Activist and Writer Hida Viloria on Being 'Born Both'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ↑ Viloria, Hida (7 April 2017). "If You Claim To Be Sex Positive, Then You Need To Be Intersex Positive". HuffPost. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
As I write about in my memoir Born Both: An Intersex Life, I'm intersex and gender-fluid (meaning my gender identity and expression changes)
- ↑ Mason Funk (1 June 2017). "Interview with Gigi Raven Wilbur". OUTWORDS. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ↑ Website bio, archived 2 April 2015
- ↑ Current website bio
- ↑ Alexandra Wang (4 August 2018). "Gigi Raven Wilbur: Advice on Bisexuality and Intersexism". interviews. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ↑ Scott-Dixon, Krista (2006). Trans/forming Feminisms: Trans/feminist Voices Speak Out. Canadian Scholars' Press. pp. 65–71. ISBN 9781894549615.
- ↑ "Amalgagender". intermisogyny. 11 August 2015. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015.
- ↑ Kau (31 May 2018). "Duogender Pride Flag". Beyond MOGAI Pride Flags. Retrieved 4 December 2020.