| Bodies Like Ours Denounces PETA Joke about Intersex |
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Bodies Like Ours Denounces PETA Press Release/Joke about Intersex April 1, 2005 Immediate Release Further information: Betsy Driver Bodies Like Ours Director 908-212-4662 Bodies Like Ours Denounces PETA Press Release/Joke about Intersex In an April 1, 2005 press release that may in fact be an April Fools’ joke, the People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals targets men and boys with micropenis and absence of a penis for their jokes and ad campaigns. A bizarre and hurtful fantasy of PETA implies that those with certain types of intersex, which they give their own name and acronym to, are not fully men, cowardly, and possibly murderers. PETA spokesperson, Justin Jest, states that men with a small penis, “…just don’t measure up.” The announcement further implies men with micropenis are unable to have adequate sex lives with their partner. PETA, in their zealousness to make a statement against hunting, has crossed the line by using those born with intersex as joke fodder. Micropenis and absence of a penis often result in healthy boys undergoing sex reassignments without their consent on the assumption that a small penis lessens their masculinity and they would be happier as girls. Once they are surgically turned into girls, they are often given dangerous hormones to finish the job. Other rationales behind these brutal surgeries include the misconception that men with small penises are unable to have satisfying heterosexual penetrative intercourse. Recent research by Dr. Bill Reiner indicates that many children who undergo sex reassignment in childhood eventually reclaim the original gender they were born with. You can find the full PETA press release at http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=6168 Bodies Like Ours is hopeful that PETA will find another way method for their animal rights activism and discontinue this ploy which only adds stigma and shame to those born intersex. We are encouraging our supporters and members to contact them to express their outrage over intersex being the butt of their jokes and possible ad campaigns. The online press release includes the following name and phone number Justin Jest 757-622-7382 x8108. Their email address is . ************************************************** *** Founded in 2002, Bodies Like Ours provides peer support and information for people born with intersex conditions. Our mission includes elimination of the shame and secrecy of intersex births through education, awareness, and community. Bodies Like Ours is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation based in Hunterdon County, NJ. To learn more about Bodies Like Ours, please visit our website at http://www.bodieslikeours.org. -30- |
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