Bodies Like Ours | Intersex Peer Support

Speak out in support of Same-Sex Marriage. Whether you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or heterosexual, it is important that you help fight constitutional amendments banning marriage for gays and lesbians. Such bans could have dire and unwanted effects on the intersex community regardless of orientation or status.

As the debate over marriage for gays and lesbians grows, many within the intersex community are watching it with a mix of anticipation and dread. While many within the intersex community identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, many others identify as heterosexual and may believe the issue doesn't affect them. While we all hope that is the case, it may very possibly affect the entire intersex community with unintended consequences if we are not cautious and proactive in this debate.

One of the big unknowns in this debate is how one man-one woman for the sake of marriage will be defined in any legislation that will be introduced seeking to bar marriage for gays and lesbians. At this point, this little, yet significant detail has not yet been discussed.

There is fear that any language seeking to define male and female will be taken from Littleton v Prange, Texas Appellate Court, 1999. This judgment upheld the decision of a lower court that trans woman Christie Lee Littleton was legally male, and that her marriage to her late husband had been invalid. As with the UK's landmark Corbett v. Corbett case in 1970, this case was sparked by property issues: Littleton had sued doctors for malpractice following the death of her husband. The doctors responded by claiming that she was legally male and as such could not be the surviving spouse of a man and the Court upheld their claim, relying upon a chromosomal test and explicitly referring back to Corbett. (from PFC.org.uk)