Amy's letter to the Daily Mississippian

[miriam]

Hi,

Please read this article (http://www.thedmonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/11/11/3fb088a95c042) :

http://www.thedmonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/11/11/3fb088a95c042

Ok, it's the south but the feedback (at the end of the article) is sooooooo... well....., it's sooooooo.... I guess there must be a southern word for it, but that word is not part of my vocabulary.

Groeten, Miriam

[Dana Gold]

Miriam,

Is life for IS people like this in the Netherlands? I have heard that the government and/or the people are at least more accepting, or am I wrong and the whole planet is infested with vomit-spewing paranoic "normals"? Even here in "liberal-minded" California the "phobics" press their agenda of "abnormal humans" referring to not just IS, but TS and GLB with the viewpoint that we are all homosexuals. I do know there ARE some good and accepting people everywhere, but Gee, I don't know....sometimes the moon seems awfully appealing at times.

Dana

[Betsy]

Amy was a brave person to write her letter and then withstand the phobic venom that others have posted. It's very scary that some of those people think they are going to Ol' Miss to be tomorrows "leaders" This illustrates exactly why we must forge ahead.

Thanks for sharing it, Mariam.

Betsy

[miriam]

Dana,

No, I’m very happy with the people who live here. Dutch society is extremely tolerant to people who are different. Nevertheless I found it very hard to tell other people about my intersexuality. About a month ago a well know Dutch psych asked me “unlike TS people you don’t HAVE to tell other people, so WHY would you tell others about your intersexuality?”.

I really hate this kind of thinking, because not speaking about it makes it impossible for other people to support us. Of course, even in the Netherlands there will be people who will only understand the words male, female and straight. But over all I have no reason to complain about the Dutch. I’m married with two children, but my marriage has a special twist: I’m married to a woman. I met her more than 25 years ago, and as soon as same sex marriages were allowed here (couple of years ago), we decided to get married. Homosexuality is a non-issue here. I sometimes feel that it even is a benefit if you want to be successful ;). And recently transsexual people (even genderdysphoric children) have come out of the woodworks. I think that paved the pathway for me to be more open about my intersex condition.

For that reason I and two other women with AIS (17 and 28 yo) decided to appear in a 40 minute television program about intersexuality that will air on December 3th, 19.55h on Dutch television. :eek:

So…. If the Dutch are not as accepting as I think they are, you will be among the first to hear ;)

Groeten, Miriam

[Dana Gold]

Miriam,

Thank you so much. Although the idea of moving back to Europe is/has been only in the thought-wish mode, I am convinced that it will be a reality someday that I will no longer be where I am presently (which I regard as a "stepping-stone"). I am presently in contact with my sister in Germany and as the saying goes: "Che sara sara". I will have to do my research, though, as premature moving may or may not affect my Social Security benefits..I'm 53 now. And like you, I told others about my intersex condition here at the Univ, because #1: I'm not hiding myself anymore (plus I dieted, lost weight and my figure was more prominent as well as breasts coming back) and #2: how will the rest of the world ever understand/sympathize/support IS people if it's kept secret as in " a shameful thing". As for your marriage being a "special twist": no, quite natural if 2 people love each other and want to raise a family (even if no kids still natural)...congratulations and best wishes for all of you. Take care and thanks again for your reply.

Dana