Intersex
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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[edit | edit source]
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 in many parts of the world, intersex people are still given so-called "normalizing" or "corrective" surgeries, often at a very young age, and without their consent.[7]
Notable people[edit | edit source]
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, is intersex and underwent nonconsensual surgery and masculinizing hormone treatments as a child.[32][33] Some of the words they have called themself include "hermaphrodite", "third gender", "ladyboy", and "sheman".[32][34][35][36][37]
Intersex-exclusive identities[edit | edit source]
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.[38]
- Duogender: One's gender is a combination of male and female as a result of being intersex.[39]
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[edit | edit source]
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