“My Doctors Always Told Me There Was Nobody Like Me”: What It’s Like to Be Intersex

Debbie says:

I’ve been less than diligent about my regular internet reading for the past couple of weeks, so I don’t have enough for a links post. But here’s one awesome thing I found while trawling for links:

Intersexuality is more discussed than it used to be, but as these young people make clear, it still isn’t handled at all well in the big world.

I especially appreciated a few things about the video. Starting off with “raise your hand if you have testes” drops the viewer into the heart of the matter in the first moments, allowing these four young intersex people to pack a great deal of value into three minutes.

I like that they all provide their own identities. I like the way they distinguish (fairly clearly) between intersexual and transgender, while the video also demonstrates the commonalities between intersexuality and variations away from the gender binary. And–no surprise!–I really like the messages to other intersexuals, especially “Your body is beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

Pulling off an introduction to intersexuality which is well-designed for intersexuals, for non-intersexual people who know a fair amount, and non-intersexual people who come in knowing nothing about the subject is remarkable. Kudos to Susan, Alex, Emily, and Saifa for their remarkable work! The Intersex Youth Advocacy Group is clearly a great resource.

 

2 thoughts on ““My Doctors Always Told Me There Was Nobody Like Me”: What It’s Like to Be Intersex

  1. Hi Debbie! I think that intersex is used like gay instead of intersexual being used like homosexual. An intersex person, someone who is intersex, etc. I haven’t seen a style guide or anything, but that is my sense of it.

  2. Interesting, thanks, Betsy! I have to say I hadn’t given that usage issue much thought, but I will check it out and be more careful in the future.

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