Intersex Awareness Day 10/26

Yesterday was Intersex Awareness Day - and I somehow missed it. Since a lot of other people probably did as well, and in the interest of continuing to raise awareness of the unique challenges of being intersex in a 'binary' world, I'm posting this thread to provide information and discuss what it means to be intersex.

Why in this forum, though? Intersex people aren't necessarily gay or lesbian, nor transgender. But there is some intersection between people who are born with intersex conditions and transgender identity, because some intersex people end up identifying as a gender different from the one they were assigned at birth. Also, laws and social norms designed around the male/female binary can leave an intersex person facing challenges similar to those experienced by people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender.

You can learn more at this site: http://intersexday.org/en/

Here's a page that explains what it means to be intersex: http://intersexday.org/en/intersex/

"Intersex people are born with sex characteristics that don’t meet medical and social norms for female or male bodies.
Intersex traits are physical variations in genitals, chromosomes or other features that relate to the development of sex characteristics. There are many different intersex variations and many different types of intersex body.

Intersex people have a wide range of different sexual orientations and gender identities. Our gender identities may match our assignments at birth or be chosen."

There is an ongoing effort against interventions, surgical and hormonal, undertaken to "correct" the outcomes of a child's intersex condition when not medically necessary (and irreversible in some cases). Appearance is not dysfunction. "Correcting" appearance too often actually creates dysfunction.

It should be noted that not all intersex conditions result in an obviously non-conforming physical appearance. It is therefore possible for some intersex people to be unaware of their condition, until something else brings it to the forefront, such as struggling with infertility or a medical emergency.

In other words, the number of conditions gathered under the umbrella of the term 'intersex' create a spectrum of difference in appearance and outcomes.

While it's true that intersex people represent a very small minority, they are no less deserving of being treated with respect and dignity than any other person.

Happy (belated) Intersex Awareness Day!

 

Excellent ! Informative and presented well. It's an issue that there is little awareness of. It will be interesting to see what sort of responses you get.

 

1) that'd be because it's about as important as "People Born With a Fused Second and Third Toe Day" is.

2) mostly humorous, is my guess.

 

Just like the Toe-Fused, the rest of us don't need to know. It's private and personal, and very rare.. Our awareness is not required unless we're medical professionals involved in the particular speciality.

 

Thank you for reminding me why I rarely post here or bother to check out what's new anymore. There are too many troll baiters like you who will take a serious topic that effects real human lives and ignorantly turn it into a joke. Obviously that is all that you are capable of doing.

 

More likely than believing that others don't need to know, I suspect that you don't want to know because you find it strange and disturbing and you are limited in your ability to comprehend things that are outside of your narrow realm of experience. The fact is that we- all of us -Do need to know and understand because these are real people who live and work among us and some are different in ways that are obvious. When we encounter them, we need to be able to respond to them with understanding and sensitivity. Sorry if I am overwhelming you with logic and reason.

 

You know 1 in 100 people fit this category right? That's a lot of people. As far as an awareness day, i think that is stupid. But it isn't very rare.

 

I'm intosex hahhahahahahahhahaha.

Seriously though this is bull(*)(*)(*)(*). Are there any intersex people with something other than XX or XY chromosomes? If not then it's just a physical deformity and they should exploit the disability welfare system like any good citizen would.

 

The fact that you don't know that there are people who don't have just xx or xy chromosome is prof of your profound willful ignorance


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You said it yourself..."in the interest of continuing to raise awareness of the unique challenges of being intersex in a 'binary' world"


Ya...the world is sexually binary and 'intersex' is an aberration. Have fun but I don't have to recognize your 'intersex awarness' aberration in any way, shape or form.

 

I see the usual haters, cranks, and trolls who have nothing useful to add to the discussion have checked in, and left us their usual gifts:

Denial, check.

Lame jokes, check.

Completely off-topic partisan reference, check.

Meta comments, check.

"We don't want/need to know about this / keep it private (stay in the closet, be subservient like the inferior sub-human freak we perceive you to be.") Check.

Minimizing, "it's not important". (Although I take note of the fact that you apparently thought it important enough to actually make a post belittling it, rather than just ignoring it.) Check.

Thanks for helping to illustrate why an awareness day is needed. Consider yourselves played.

 

Oh fair enough then, I can admit when I'm wrong.

 

Absolutely. Because that's how relevant it is to 99.9% of us. Making a 'day' for it does little to nothing as far as the broader community is concerned, and is of interest only to those directly connected. Bullying and demonization of those who 'decline to be aware' are not going to help any, either.

 

"declining to be aware" of an issue, in a thread posted to raise awareness of that issue. Priceless.

I fully expect that those who choose to remain ignorant will do so. They aren't the people that an awareness campaign seeks to reach, though.

 

I thought is was considerably less than that, Poly.

There are only so many days available, and dedicating a day to something so deeply private as genitalia, is ridiculous. Why not a "Small Penis Awareness Day"? Or a "Hairy Crack Awareness Day"?

 

Citation needed.

It is very rare.

 

It isn't about genitalia it's about chromosomes. But like i said, an "awareness day" is rather dumb.

It surprised me to learn intersex was that common also.

 

Certainly.

http://www.isna.org/faq/frequency

So it isn't that rare.

 

Yes it is very rare and it is strange how there is no source for the generic claim that those different from male female = 1 in 100.

It is an empty claim. Having a third source repeat it does not make it legitimate.

 

Delete

 

Do you have a citation for this claim?

 

Yes over 99 percent of all humans are male or female.

No one can prove otherwise.

You made the original claim and have failed to provide evidence. I do not have to provid evidence of a round earth to disprove a flat earth,

The burden is on you

 

Intersexed doesn't mean neither male or female so this is isn't an argument. I never wanted or cared to disprove this.

 

No ma'am.

Crank made the original claim that it was rare. Post # 3

 

That is a general claim and you made the specific claim that it is 1 in 100.

No evidence to back it up