Stories about: intersex
By virtue of experiencing genital trauma at the hands of surgeons, I cannot help but feel aligned with the intersex community.
The first time I met someone – other than a relative – that I knew was also intersex, it was over twenty years ago. We met quietly at a crusty pub near Roma Street station in Brisbane. We spent the afternoon sharing our experiences; revealing to one another our chromosomal patterns, family histories and hormone replacement regimes. …
I’m standing in the middle of my aunt’s living room in my underwear. My belly, breasts and limbs are covered in course black hair, echoing the dark stubble along my jaw. My secret revealed. I’m 13 years old. My mother is holding my arm with one hand and pointing at me with the other. “Do …
Depending on when it was you asked my parents about their children, they would tell you they had three girls and three boys or, more lately, two girls and four boys. When I was born one of twins, the attending physician wasn’t sure if I was a boy or a girl. I would later learn …
This is an extract of a longer article available at the Intersex Day Project. Twenty years ago, Morgan Holmes, Max Beck and friends demonstrated as “Hermaphrodites with Attitude” outside a conference in Boston, and I had no idea. It wasn’t the start of intersex activism, but it was the first public demonstration that intersex people …
For children with different bodies, honesty and disclosure can help to avoid a lifetime of shame. In 2010, I completed an autobiographical documentary called Orchids: My Intersex Adventure. Orchids is a highly personal account of being intersex – or rather, of having an intersex variation called Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS). This experience defined my childhood, …
Yesterday, a bill before Australian parliament decreed that LGBT and intersex individuals are now covered under federal anti-discrimination laws. Australia has become the first country to include intersex people under their anti-discrimination act. This is big stuff. And essentially, it’s about recognition. There are over 30 intersex conditions currently recognised by medical practitioners. As for …
Archer Magazine is all about sexual diversity, so this is big news for us and our readers. From July 1, Australians can select Intersex, in addition to Male and Female, on all government documents and department records. While an option for gender X has been allowed on Australian passports for several years, the new guidelines …