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S C I E N C E
Between The Sexes
More babies than you might think are born neither boys nor girls. Sorting it out is a lifelong struggle
By CHRISTINE GORMAN; WENDY COLE
Monday, Mar. 01, 2004
In 1993 Debbie Hartman was sure she was hearing things in her hospital room. She had just undergone a caesarean section, and the doctors were saying the baby was healthy but they weren't sure whether it was a boy or a girl. "I thought the drugs were making me hallucinate," she recalls. In fact, she was hearing just fine. But nothing about her child's biology — from the chromosomes to the reproductive tissue — conformed to the standard demarcations we have come to expect between the male and female sexes. In the language of developmental biologists, the baby was "intersexual."
Careful examination showed that the infant had one testis, what looked like a small penis and no uterus or vagina. Genetic tests did not make things any clearer: some of the child's cells contained the XX chromosome pairing typically seen in girls, others contained the XY pattern seen in boys, and some had but a single X chromosome, commonly seen in girls with a condition called Turner syndrome.
Technically speaking, the Hartman baby was a true hermaphrodite. Scientists don't know how this happens, but one possible explanation is that two eggs are fertilized in the womb — one XX and the other XY — but rather than developing separately into twins, the zygotes merge to become one embryo. At any rate, "hermaphrodite" is not one of the options available on a birth certificate, so the Hartmans' doctors struggled to figure out which sex was more appropriate for the child. Meanwhile, Debbie's sister and mother told relatives and friends not to send anything pink or blue. "They said yellow or green," Hartman recalls. "Or better yet, just send a card."
After two weeks, the doctors decided the baby was a boy. Debbie and her husband — they have since divorced — named their son Kyle and took him home. Debbie quickly dubbed her little guy Mr. Man and Slugger. When Kyle was 11 weeks old, however, he developed a hernia that required surgery. Midway through the operation, four doctors came to the waiting room, and one of them told Kyle's parents that "your child is in fact a girl." The surgical team had found rudimentary ovarian and Fallopian-tube tissue in Kyle's body.
In some ways, this latest turn of events was even more upsetting and confusing than the birth. But the physician's recommendation was clear: the vestigial ovarian and Fallopian-tube tissue and the testis should be removed at once, while the child was still under anesthesia. Otherwise the tissue could become cancerous. "All I could hear was cancer, cancer, cancer," Debbie says. So she and her husband consented to the operation. (The phallus, which doctors eventually renamed a clitoris, was surgically reduced two years later.) The next day the Hartmans took home their recovering infant, whom they quickly renamed Kelli. The family held a second baby shower, and boyish clothing was replaced with lacy pink dresses and other feminine attire.
Kelli went on to have three more surgeries to construct female-looking genitalia. But the matter wasn't settled. At the age of 4, she started asking, "Mommy, am I a boy or a girl?" When she was 6, she questioned her mother about all her surgical scars, and when Kelli was 8, her mother told her the whole story.
The truth came as a relief, although Kelli, now 10, is still grappling with the significance of gender in her life. A stocky, surefooted kid whose interests range from gardening and landscaping to marble collecting and woodworking, Kelli suffers from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which, she says, actually makes her feel more self-conscious than being intersexual. When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, she replies, "A carpenter. Maybe I'll be a male carpenter." Why a male carpenter? "Because I'd be taken more seriously."
True hermaphrodites like Kelli are thought to be quite rare. But less extreme cases of intersexuality occur more often than you might think. One estimate from a scientific review published in 2000 is that they represent 0.2% to 2% of live births. About 30 genetic and hormonal conditions can give rise to intersexuality, leading, in some folks, to an obvious mixture of male and female sex traits. In others the variation is far less noticeable, producing, for example, the premature development of body hair. Indeed, many intersexuals probably live their whole lives as men or women without ever suspecting the complexity of their nature.
For years doctors believed that the best treatment for an obviously intersexual newborn was a swift one. The reproductive system and genitalia were surgically refashioned to conform to one sex or the other. (In practice, this often meant deciding that the child should be a girl because, in the indelicate phrasing of the surgical world, "it's easier to make a hole than build a pole.") The goal was to minimize the amount of time the child spent with a nonstandard body in the hope that he or she would find it easier to develop a conventional sense of gender. As in Kelli's case, there was also concern that "extraneous" reproductive tissues might be more likely to become malignant.
In recent years, however, the need for swift and irreversible intervention has been called into question. Adult intersexuals are stepping from the shadows to talk about their experiences, including the harmful effects they attribute to extensive childhood surgery. Some complain that they were assigned the wrong sex at birth. Others are more upset about the secrecy and shame their condition often elicited from their family. There is growing evidence that such surgery can interfere with the ability to achieve sexual gratification, that it can cause chronic incontinence and that the cancer risk may be exaggerated.
As these issues have emerged, the American Academy of Pediatrics (A.A.P.) has begun to reconsider its policy of endorsing early surgery for intersexuals. Dr. Ian Aaronson, a professor of urology and pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina, who helped write the A.A.P. guidelines, is coordinating what he hopes will be the largest-ever follow-up study of intersexuals to see what effects, good or bad, surgery has had on their emotional, psychological and sexual well-being.
Nobody is arguing that babies should be raised without a gender identity, says Dr. Bruce Wilson, a pediatric endocrinologist at DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich. "Those decisions should be made reasonably quickly, within a few days," he believes. But in his view and that of a growing number of other doctors, surgery can often be postponed until closer to puberty or even later, when the child can more effectively participate in the decision and help ensure that the surgically fashioned gender fits the child's subjective sense of self.
There is a larger social issue to consider. Despite the many changes in gender roles in recent decades, our society is still fixed on the idea that there are just two separate sexes. Is the rush to early surgery a matter of medical necessity, or is it a matter of social bias that leaves doctors and parents uncomfortable with nonstandard genitalia? It's a question that more intersexuals are raising. "Doctors have found a medical solution to what is essentially a social problem," insists Thea Hillman, board member of the advocacy group Intersex Society of North America www.isna.org). "The problem has to do with differences and people's fear of differences."
Yet postponing surgery would carry its own burdens. "When children become aware of their body image at age 2 or 3 and compare their anatomy with others', questions are raised about the potential for psychological harm through their childhood," Aaronson says.
Either way, the decision to operate soon after birth isn't easy. In retrospect, Kelli's mom thinks she might have waited. "Parents can help their kids live with genitals that are different," she says. On the other hand, she acknowledges, postponing surgery might have been difficult too. "If we had left Kyle as Kyle, I'm convinced he would have felt feminine at times."
Part of what makes the decision so complex is that even when the chromosomes present a clear message on gender, anatomy may contradict it. Consider Sherri, a 45-year-old tax attorney from San Diego. Although her sex chromosomes are unambiguously XY, there is no doubt that she is a woman. Sherri has androgen-insensitivity syndrome (AIS), a condition that affects prenatal development. All embryos start out with the rudiments of male and female reproductive systems. A sort of developmental tug-of-war ensues until, generally speaking, the male reproductive system predominates in XY fetuses and the female in XX fetuses. The external male genitalia will not take shape in an XY fetus, however, until after the embryonic testes form and begin to produce testosterone.
AIS occurs when a gene on the X chromosome prevents the fetus from responding to that prenatal testosterone. Because the genitalia cannot be masculinized, they assume a more female structure. But that's not all. In the complete form of AIS, the body cannot respond to testosterone at all and the baby develops as a female, although without a functioning reproductive system. When Sherri was 11, she was told that she could never bear children because she had been born with "twisted ovaries" that had to be removed when she was a baby. In fact, the "ovaries" were her testes. "No one ever explained to me what my medical condition was," Sherri says.
The secrecy that surrounds intersexuality may be the most damaging thing about it. Julanne Tutty, a 35-year-old assistant deli manager in a Boston supermarket, didn't learn she was intersexual until she was 31. During a routine visit to her doctor's office, she became curious about her voluminous medical records and decided to sneak a peek. They indicated her chromosomes are all XY, yet she was born with an internal vagina, two testes and a "flattened stump" for a penis. "I was stunned," she says. Eventually Tutty got a copy of her medical records. "It was like getting the missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle."
Tutty's parents never told her she had undergone surgery as an infant to make her more female in appearance. Looking back, she thinks they made the right decision but wishes they had been more forthcoming. Since discovering her intersexuality, Tutty has decided to stop dating men. "I had this fear that if the truth about me came out, things could get ugly," she says. For nearly a year, she has been happily involved with a woman. "Things have turned out well for me," Tutty says. "A lot of intersex people never feel O.K. in relationships or even find partners."
Relationships are one thing, but even everyday paperwork can be a problem. Elijah Hobbs, 26, was raised as a girl in Cicero, Ind. At puberty, his body developed both feminine and masculine features — breasts but broad shoulders and a deep voice. It became more difficult to pass as a girl, and Hobbs eventually came to think of himself as male. At 24, he legally changed his sex to male, and in January he underwent surgery to have his breasts and ovaries removed. To get medical coverage, he told his insurance company he was a woman. After all, what guy would require these operations?
Elijah, Julanne and Sherri all would have found life easier if less embarrassment and secrecy were associated with their condition. That's a goal the Intersex Society is working toward. Meanwhile, scientists hope that more sophisticated testing will eventually help doctors and families make more informed choices about how to treat intersexuals. New research on the genetics of sexual development shows, for example, that several of the genes that influence sex are not even located on the X or Y chromosomes. What it all boils down to, says Dr. Eric Vilain, a professor of human genetics, pediatrics and urology at UCLA, is that the roots of gender identity are much more complex than anyone thought. But Kelli could have told them that.
Billie Q.
02-23-04, 10:04 AM
Miriam:
Thanks for posting the article. I believe it's very nicely-done, and should be well-received by the TIME-reading public.
Hello Billie,
Indeed, it is a very nice article. Yet in European eyes it is a bit ‘old fashioned’. I think the idea of talking a lot about gender is more important in the US than it is in The Netherlands. Especially here we are focusing on what it means to live with an intersex condition. Gender is not a very important issue here. Shame, secrecy and sexual surgeries are the main topics at this moment. Only three months ago two other AIS-girls and I were the guests in a 40 minutes talk show on the Dutch television. “For the first time in the history of Dutch television… three women with an intersex condition… blahblah” We did it to prove to our medics that you can tell others about AIS without a problem. You can find stills from the program at our website: http://www.aisnederland.nl/media/vadp.html (Sorry, the page is in Dutch).
The only problem I have with the Time article is the use of the word intersexual. I have an intersex condition but that doesn’t mean I’m an intersexsual… People with the syndrome of Down are not Downers, so why does Time call us intersexuals? Well, I assume it takes some Time to get things changed ;)
Groeten, MIR
It's very nice to see personal stories told about living with an intersex condition. The article itself is rather unremarkable; I guess I was hoping for something more.
I'm with miriam on the word intersexual. It's really quite misleading.
Betsy
Miriam wrote:
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The only problem I have with the Time article is the use of the word intersexual. I have an intersex condition but that doesn’t mean I’m an intersexsual… People with the syndrome of Down are not Downers, so why does Time call us intersexuals?
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O.K it is not perfect, but it is a start, Thousands of Time readers are reading about intersexed condtions for the first time in there life. Making Time was big, very big!
Being called a intersexual, is it a problem? There are far worse things we could be called.
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Betsy wrote: The article itself is rather unremarkable; I guess I was hoping for something more.
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The article may have been done by a average reporter but the people she chose to write about are some of the most remarkable people around. Thumbs up for Elijah!
Betsy, Miriam I'm celebrating the good news that Time as brought forth because it is the -beginning- of a dialogue about the intersexed as a topic that has been virtually unknown untill now!
Kelly, as a ten year old did a brave thing by comming foward and opening up to the whole country about her condition with a smile even!! Debbie you should be very proud to have a child with such strength!!! She did say worthwhile things!!!:D
Wendy was fair, and covered alot of ground with a lot of people, and she did not have a easy job with editors cutting her work, and other competeing stories.
She told a real human story. SO CHEERS. to us!
One small step for me,...One Big step foward for the intersexed!!!
Julanne Tutty
The unremarkable comment was by no means about the people profiled. The article itself was lacking in many areas beyond the actual profiles, in my opinion. Yes...the exposure is great, but the article could have been better.
Betsy
Would have I wrote it differenty? Of course?? Would you? I'm sure you would. I'm just glad that I did not get ignored.
cougar9q
02-23-04, 10:58 PM
Hey everyone that participated in the Time magazine!
Ya'll are awesome!!!
It may seem like a little step, yet we just pushed the meida dooor open!!
May logic is that if Time did a little artice on us, then some other magazine will realize that we deserve much more coverage and will make (hopefully) our story front page!
Call me over optimistic....but I am so excited!
Cheers to all that wrote for Time!
~Monica
Billie Q.
02-24-04, 05:21 AM
Originally posted by Betsy
The unremarkable comment was by no means about the people profiled. The article itself was lacking in many areas beyond the actual profiles, in my opinion. Yes...the exposure is great, but the article could have been better.
Betsy
I agree.
Billie Q.
02-24-04, 05:33 AM
Originally posted by miriam
Hello Billie,
Indeed, it is a very nice article. Yet in European eyes it is a bit old fashioned. . .The only problem I have with the Time article is the use of the word intersexual. I have an intersex condition but that doesn't mean I'm an intersexsual
Miriam, the link you posted was quite interesting. I think I'd like to visit Holland ;). Yes, the US sadly lags behind Europe in MANY areas, but we're trying.
What would be a better term for articles and media to use than intersexual?
Originally posted by Billie Q.
Miriam:
Thanks for posting the article. I believe it's very nicely-done, and should be well-received by the TIME-reading public.
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Originally posted by Betsy
The unremarkable comment was by no means about the people profiled. The article itself was lacking in many areas beyond the actual profiles, in my opinion. Yes...the exposure is great, but the article could have been better.
Betsy
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THEN BILLY Q WROTE:
I agree.
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First you said: it was very nicely done, now you "agree" that it could have been better... well which is it?
Betsy is a reporter, so she has a much more critical eye for such things.
I was suggesting in my last post that it is better to focus on the postive things (Like the people who got interviewed, and the strength it takes to come out.) Rather then looking at all the things that did not make it in the article.
Wendy the reporter was giving a very wide over view of intersexed people and ther lives. Don't forget she still had to fight to get the space for us in Time.
We have no idea how many times she had to rewrite her paper or how many cuts the editors made before the article would run, but it did run. I was tickled pink when I saw my picture in Time and to just be inculded. It feels like passing a huge exam with a "A"
Why the flip-flop in your thoughts?
Like Jules,,,,I am glad it finally made it.
Lets be glad the word just got out to thousands of people. Had I seen an article like this, remarkable OR unremarkable, before i had Kelli,,,,,,,,I may have been at least 'forwarned', 'educated' to the fact that this can happen. It may have even made me inquire more. If it helps one person..then my decision to do this and have Kell participate was the right one - no doubt.
Great work Jules!
I am so proud of my child. I cannot even express it in words.
I am going to pick up a hard copy today so she can see it. I haven't seen one yet either. ONly the online version. Not sure if they chose to go with pics or not.
Anyway, I hope everyone is cool.
Everyone has an opinion of course. COULDA been better - -COULDA been worse.
Lets be glad it is what it is and that it finally made it to press.
Take care all.
DEBBIE WROTE: I am so proud of my child. I cannot even express it in words.
I am going to pick up a hard copy today so she can see it.
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You know Debbie, she looks great. When I first posted, and I mean the very first post. I think I asked if any other intersexuals had hyperactivity as a problem. Because back then I was the one of the most hyperactive children that doctors had ever delt with. It troubled my mother and I more then any other of my disabilitys. I was on heavy medicated from three untill I was seventeen. Today I am still a hyperactive adult. I hide my hyperactivity well, but I still have it. As I read about Kelly's hyperactivity I could not help but wonder how much we were alike inspite that we are diffrent.
Thank you Debbie for your support.
Thank you Betsy for giving me the chance to reach this point.
Thank you Monica for your thumbs up!
Thanks Mirima, and welcome, because I havn't heard form you in awhile.
There is still so many BLO's that have yet to speak so, I thank them to because they have helped me along my way
Even our non interxed supporters, Thanks!
Originally posted by Billie Q.
What would be a better term for articles and media to use than intersexual?
I prefer 'people with an intersex condition'. September last year I did a presentation for 300 medics at the HBIGDA conference (hey, we know how to cope with transsexual people, so now we can handle intersex people as well – yikes!). At that conference I introduced myself with : ‘Hi, I’m Miriam, I’m intersexed’. I can’t say I like that word, but I used it because it is part of the vocabulary many of those medics are used to. At that meeting the vocabulary used was less important than the message of my presentation: don’t talk about us, talk with us. Another reason why I sometimes call myself intersex(ed) is the bad habit of some transsexual people to use that word for their own condition. Even if it is true that transsexualism is hard-coded in the brains (and I believe it is), the history of people with an intersex condition is just too different to put everything in one bag. I guess I try to ‘reclaim’ the word intersex when I call myself intersexed.
Originally posted by Billie Q.
I think I'd like to visit Holland :)
Uhhh, you know, Holland is just a very small part of The Netherlands. Anyway, if you really come to visit us, just let me know and I’ll tell you everything about Amsterdam, drugs, sex and the rest of the Netherlands :)
Groeten, Miriam
Billie Q.
02-24-04, 10:21 AM
Originally posted by miriam
I prefer 'people with an intersex condition'. . .Holland is just a very small part of The Netherlands. Anyway, if you really come to visit us, just let me know and I'll tell you everything about Amsterdam, drugs, sex and the rest of the Netherlands. . .
I will start to use 'people with intersex conditions' then, to describe my IS friends & acquaintances.
Now Miriam, do you suppose I would go to the trouble to hop the pond for the seediness of Amsterdam? Hardly.
I am more the type of tourist to visit historic sites, gardens, flower producing companies, nature preserves and museums.
I should have just come out and said you and the other ladies (shown in the linked article you posted) are very lovely;)
And I stand corrected, Holland is only one part of the Nederlands.
Originally posted by Jules
Betsy is a reporter, so she has a much more critical eye for such things.
I was suggesting in my last post that it is better to focus on the postive things (Like the people who got interviewed, and the strength it takes to come out.) Rather then looking at all the things that did not make it in the article.
Dear Jules,
You are absolutely right. When I read the article I read it from a professional perspective (I’ve been a journalist) and from an activist perspective. I’m afraid I forgot to read it from a human perspective. I don’t have enough words to tell you how proud I am of you and the other wonderful people who were interviewed. For 99 percent of the readers of Time Magazine it will be the first time they read about real people with an intersex condition. It’s a first step, but it’s more than just a step, it is indeed a giant leap!
Groeten, Miriam
As Miriam said in the above post and as I wrote in the announcement that went out to our several hundred member mailing list, each of you---Deb & Kell, Jules, Elijah, Sherri is to be commended for the courage to be included. Yes...that is a wonderful thing and yes, for the millions who will read about IS conditions for the first time, even better.
But, those millions will not be privy to the wonderful research that is going on supporting the mission of intersex activists worldwide despite the article being in the Science section. Those millions will not be privy to (of which 1:2000 will be intersex themselves) information that could help them erase their own shame and secrecy despite the writer making a weak attempt at trying to make it sound that erasing shame and secrecy is paramount (which I believe it is---give people the tools to overcome the core issues and the rest such as surgery elimination will follow quickly behind).
In that sense, it is akin to writing an article about breast cancer survivors but neglecting to mention the importance of regular mammograms-doh!
In the magazine index (at least online) the subtitle is, "The Third Sex" This is misleading and damaging information. The actual title of the article "Between the Sexes" is as misleading today as it was when Girlfriends Magazine used it last Spring. Doctors worldwide dismiss intersex activists by claiming we want to see a third sex or a genderless society. They also use that information as a scare tactic with new parents by saying things like "surgery is a must---otherwise your baby won't develop a boy or girl gender identity" along with other lies based upon erroneous headlines like that. This type of wrong and misinformation perpetuated by this article is extremely hard to overcome because so many people think if they read it, it must be true. I know for a fact that it was reiterated several times to the reporter that intersex activists aren't out there clamoring that a third sex or gender be socially created, yet there is the headline and index heading implying otherwise. The overwhelming vast majority of intersex people identify as male or female, not in a third sex or in between genders. The reporter knew that yet allowed those headlines to be used on this article; that is extremely sloppy reporting and editing.
On a personal note, this reporter found at least three of the people she interviewed directly as a result of Bodies Like Ours. I'm rather offended she didn't even mention Bodies Like Ours---nothing like waking up in the morning and feeling used. So, while she did good by the four of you, she very much exploited this organization.
Anyways, I'm working on my letter to the editor about the misleading and damaging headlines.
Betsy
i thought the article would never come out!
im glad it did, but am with betsy on being disappointed that there was no mention of queerbodies or bodies.
wendy had told me that she was going to include queerbodies as something that i work on, but it didnt get a mention.
would have liked for something i put a lot of time into to at least get a mention and get more people to visit and get involved.
i think for the general audience, the article was ok. but the whole "third sex" thing kind of makes me feel a bit like a freak. which i think is what the article was trying to avoid....
i almost forgot.
thanks to jules, debbie, and kelli.
you guys rock!
goooooood mooorning b.......l........o........
Just wanted to say i see everyone in the article as heros.
WTG ,,,woooooohooooooo .
I am just so happy to see people are being made" aware "that babies are being born every day with genitalia that differs from the norm.I don't care what anyone calls it, or what the headlines says ,, to get them to read it. As long as the article is true and presents us to the world .
There are lots of people with I.C. ( intersex conditions)( hehe, I agree miriam).that still don't know the word intersex.Not only people with I.C. , but there are women out their ( my mother being one ) that gave birth to child with I.C., and have never heard the word intersex. I found out two days ago from my uncle(first family I have spoke to about my condition) that when I was born, My mom was freaking out ,,,,for two weeks before they could tell her what my gender was.and all they told her was I was going to need lots of operations.she walked around in a daze, doing whatever the doctor told her to do.This is soooooo WRONG.
Although I am VERY upset blo. was not mentioned in the article ( I personally believe blo. saved my life as I said in my very first post)
I think we should be thankful it was written,and focus on how we can get the next one out there. And lets do it with a sence of urgency,,,,,,,for every day that goes by ,,,,,,,, more and more children are being cut up for no reason,,,,,,,,,,,every day there is a mother who is" freaking out" about their new born baby ,, instead of feeling the joy and happiness of giving life to a new being.Every day there is the possibility that someone with an intersex condition(aware or not)is contemplating suicide.
The root of the problem can be summed up in one word, " SECRECY ".......
People are not stupid ,, and once they are made aware of what is happening ,,,,,,, they will go on their computers,,,,,,, they will become informed and outraged,,,,,,,,,,,,,and the medical community will be forced to step out of the "dark ages"and stop mutilating children , and start educating them and their parents.
It would be wonderful if we could gracefully and tastefully make our way into the world,and dictate what we are called and how we are presented. I'm sorry,,,,, but that just takes to much time,I am reading of events regarding to intersex awareness,, that took place in like 1996. I am intersexed,,,, I never heard the word intil this year. Back in 1996 I was under the impression , I was a freak,alone in the world,and was being punished by god or something,,and tried to kill myself.
Although" I" have been saved,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I can't stop thinking of all the people out there that haven't been...................................and are crying this very second,,,,,,,,,,.
We all know there are people out there suffering because of the secrecy,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and because we know,,,,,,,,, it is our responsability to end that secrecy ,,,and end it quickly!
Betsy,,,,,,,,,,,, I am sorry you felt used,,,,,,,,,,With all that you've done and the time you must invest in the site alone ,,,,,,,, I hate to see you feeling that way ,, so I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you,,, and everything you've done.
I want everyone to know this letter is not meant to try and force my opinion or offend anyone ,,,but I think I just wrote myself a motivation speach ,,,lol,,,,because I feel charged up and ready to go out in the world and start getting the word out.
I have come up with something I can do on a large scale, to try and attract attention.I think I am on to a good idea,,,,,,,stay tuned for more info to come... I will post it in the announcement section soon.
for now,,, WWW.BODIESLIKEOURS.ORG is proudly on the back of my truck.
have a great day !!!!! be strong and love large. :)
ps - I dislike the fact that our condition even has the word sex in it.When i hear the word sex,,,,,i don't think in referance to gender ,,,I think of a private act shared by adults.If a parent puts netnanny or something like that on their computer, you couldn't even do a search on intersex.
pps - No one from the medical community was harmed during the making of this letter . :)
OK, I just got through the posts in this thread. From what I've read, I see some of you are not 100% thrilled with how it came out. I've also seen some posts defending it.
I've only read the 'reprint' that was in the first post of this thread, so I don't know if that was the complete text or not.
Could the article have been better? I'd bet almost anything it could have been. But let's face it, most people are not really ready to get past the binary gender "fact" they've grown up believing in. I for one, am just going to hope for the best and maybe Time will get some positive feedback on this article and perhaps they will revisit this topic in the near future.
Andi
Hey! I just noticed this is my 100th post! :D
Realists: This is the first time intersex has made the news in a public forum. This is the first time on a national level that we made a big step. A step is better then no step. Be happy! The media door at least opened, it is up to us how we view this and where we go with it.
Idealists: Time did not go far enough. They left the major issues if intersex untouched. No link to bodies and the stories lacked the content that we realy hoped would get in. They called us a third sex, intersexuals, very confusing.
both of these views are right. BLO seems split between the two.
Jules says: have faith. All it means is that at a later time we wil know what to exspect when the media wants to interview us.
Now we can do things a little diffrent, the next time we get the spotlight we will make sure that the issues we want covered, get covered.
It just takes a little time and some faith.
:D
Dana Gold
02-25-04, 08:30 AM
Thank you so very much to Jules, Debbie and Kell, Elijah , and Sherri for their selfless and open sharing of their lives to the general public through the mass media. Your courage and tenacity are indeed the "stuff" heroes are made of. I don't know if I could do the same. I, myself, was finally glad to see the article make it. Like a hungry child at the supper table, I was eagerly awaiting the long overdue "meal". I was at first disappointed that the "meal" did not include more than I had expected. I was thinking to myself that the article made it sound so easy to live life as an intersexed human being. I felt consideration was not given to the tremendous hurdles and challenges that face any body variant person in this society: not just in gender, but adequate medical care, family issues, personal tribulations and the pain to establish a sense of self...the "contested self" as Sharon Preves put it. But after careful thought I realized that the article had to probably pass not only "journalistic standards" but had to most likely be contained within a format to where the "meal " would be "digestible" to the general public. So extensive editing was , in all likelihood , applied to all of the contents and context of the interviewers and interviewees. In that respect, the article was succinct and accurate (disregarding the issue of semantics, of course). It was an Intersex Primer, for Time is , after all, a media to disseminate world/people "events" to a public that, as Andi put it, has been entrenched in "binary gender "fact" they've grown up believing in." Any more "detail" or "extra fixings" to the "meal" may have been incomprehensible ( as in sensory overload ) or "shocking" to them. As for BLO and Queer Bodies not being mentioned: Perhaps the editors and "honchos" of Time considered that. But, maybe after seeing what is actually said from our little community, they might have thought that it would be unpalatable or just "too heavy" for the average citizen. (Especially with the rants I have written!!). So, yes, be thankful that the public was exposed to Intersex 101, as I feel it was. And be thankful for the individuals who put forth so much to make it all happen.
As for the word "intersexuals" and the concept of "discovering one's intersexuality" (as mentioned in the article).........sigh....well, let's just hope the "normosexuals" will give the "plate" of Intersex a more sumptuous helping next time, that is, after they discover some of their own normosexuality and it's constructed misbeliefs in relation to our reality. But, I'm being s/w cynical again, aren't I? The reporters, I surmise , were probably very sincere and really did want to do something for better understanding. But, they had to operate within "the system" and their own little understanding of intersex lives. So it would be prudent and considerate to be thankful to them for their efforts. In addition I was glad to see the below quote from the article:
"Doctors have found a medical solution to what is essentially a social problem," insists Thea Hillman, board member of the advocacy group Intersex Society of North America www.isna.org).
Oh well, progress is measured in forward movement. The article was progress and quite positive.
PS: If we are the 3rd Sex, who is the 1st and who is the 2nd??:rolleyes: ;)
Take care, all.
Originally posted by Dana Gold
PS: If we are the 3rd Sex, who is the 1st and who is the 2nd??:rolleyes: ;)
Good question! Common believe, of course, is that Adam was the first human being. I guess he was representing the first sex and Eve the second sex.
But is that true? Was Adam first and Eve second? Only recently Thornton’s research with moleculair genetic technology revealed that the first and oldest steroid receptor is the estrogen receptor. Followed by the progesterone receptor and the corticoid receptor. The estrogen receptor originates from 450 million years ago. The androgen receptor (and the male sex!) came into existance 50 million years later.
Androgen insensitivity is not a mistake of nature; it is an attempt to correct an earlier mistake :) Just kidding! Really? Uhhh.... ;)
Groeten, Miriam
(Thornton JW. Evolution of vertebrate steroid receptors from an ancestral estrogen receptor by ligand exploitation and serial genome expansions. PNAS 2001;98:5671-6.)
Dana Gold
02-25-04, 10:00 AM
http://abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s63100.htm
An astute observation (as the saying goes), liebe Miriam. Perhaps We are not, after all, the 3rd (meaning the deviant from the "norm")..nicht wahr?;)
Dana:D
ptrinkl108
02-25-04, 02:09 PM
I have read the news stand version of the Time article, and thought that the sensitively done photographs of Elijah, Jules, Debbie, and Kelli added a personal touch to the story.
I am distressed to hear that after giving many hours of interviews, Betsy was not mentioned in the article. Also, no mention was made of the "Bodies" forum.
I think that the article is a step forward, and I wish that I had seen a similar article when I was a teenager. I hope that the article will help many intersex people, and their allies, who are now alone. While mass circulation magazines can help our movement, I believe that the Internet is still the greatest tool that our community has, and that the "Bodies" forum is at the heart of our movement.
p.s. Emi has posted an interesting "letter to the editor" about the TIME article on her web site at www.ipdx.org
Peter
PS: If we are the 3rd Sex, who is the 1st and who is the 2nd??
That is pretty good. I hope you don't mind if I used it as the title of a letter to the editor.
I had something similar alluding to a mythical third sex but co-opted yours :p
I know some are thinking I'm being whiny but I don't think I am. Here's why I think that way and keep in mind that I have the perspective from both sides of the pen and camera.
Reality: BLO was contacted when the reporter first was assigned this story. She emailed looking for background material which Bodies Like Our happily provided. Most importantly, she needed what she called "real people" to talk to. Bodies (me) spent quite a bit of time writing emails and making phone calls on her behalf. The reporter in turn was contacted by several of those people. . Two of those people in turn were interviewed for the story.
Out of curiosity, Bodies also posts a note here in the forums asking if anyone is interested in being interviewed: http://www.bodieslikeours.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=575&perpage=9&pagenumber=1 JUles jumped in and expressed interest so contact information was given.
In a nutshell, Bodies did this reporter’s footwork for her and if Bodies had blown off this reporter, some of people profiled would not have been included. Hell, I could’ve said, “Memememememe…I’ll do it”, but thought it was more important to have others in our community given that opportunity.
Over the course of time, other conversations with reporter take place--even through last week--and reporter never mentions that Bodies or QB will not be included. There was supposed to be a sidebar talking about the importance of support outlets; there were long conversations about the importance of giving the 1 in 2000 people who are reading that article tools to help them erase their own shame and secrecy. Fact is, Bodies is the only active non-condition specific one out there that is accessible to anyone with internet access. ISNA is an advocacy organization, not a support organization and that difference is important here.
So, yeah, this principled girl with an intersex condition who doesn’t get a regular paycheck for the work and time she spends with Bodies and who thinks media references to intersex as a third sex and existing in gender limbo is dangerous, is rather pissed off that the organization she co-founded and cares deeply about didn’t get mentioned. I keenly understand the importance of positive media coverage and therein is the rub. Bodies went above and beyond helping this reporter to make sure the article was positive with the understanding that Bodies would be mentioned.
I wonder what the reaction would be like if any of the people featured was cut out at the last minute due to space considerations. I don’t think the reaction would be much different than what I am feeling.
Betsy
:mad:
Dana Gold
02-25-04, 05:03 PM
quote:
"I hope you don't mind if I used it as the title of a letter to the editor."
Go for it!, m'lady.:D .......3rd sex indeed!!:rolleyes:
PS: I'm in a "German" mood, today, so I start interjecting German words (I even cursed in German today @ work)
Jawohl = YES!
nicht wahr? = not so ?
Frau Doktor Gold;)
I agree,,,,,,,
I can't believe they would only tell half the story.
It does not suprise me, even from a distiguished magazine such as Time. For everything I've encountered ,involving intersex, is unbelievable.
How can you tell of a condition that causes such pain and not tell of the cure?
This site is the only one I've found that has "helped me deal" with my condition, and not just inform me of it .
I think the reporter agrees with you betsy,,,,,,she knows you did alot of her legwork, and is afraid of sharing the credit.You only have to read a few posts to realize the importance of this site.The fact that blo. was not mentioned ,,,, leaves me questioning if she even read any posts? I think we were just another story to help further her career, and you have every right to feel used ,,,as you were. But in the same respect, we are using them too,,,,,,,,,,we don't care if they sell magazines,,,,we just care about getting our story out ,,, right? So we both used each other,,,,,, no biggie,,,,, we will just learn to use them better next time ,,lol,, And I promise to help .
Be pissed ,,,betsy,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,don't deny your feelings ,,,,,,,I've learnt that all feelings,,warrented or not,,create energy,,,,,,,,, and that energy ,,,,if not released , will destroy you. Instead use it to your advantage.Channel that energy,,and use it to give you a boost forward.......this will make you want to turn,,,smile :) and wave,,,,and thank her ....
I'm sure it's something you already know,,,,,,,,but sometimes even elephants forget.( elephants being known for their ability to remember.) :)
Above all,,,,,,,,,,,,WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO,,,,,,,,,,,the word is getting out there, :)
Have a great day all!!!!!
ps.- no elephants were harmed in the making of this letter. :)
I truly understand your disappointment Betsy. The reporter had told me that they cut and cut and cut things to make the article fit.And yes, had they cut Kells and my part out I would have felt just like you perhaps.
I can't help but feel AT LEAST the word got OUT. Not all correct...not complete but its out there. FINALLY.
I mean; thousands of people WILL hear about it. I cannot reiterate enough what I said previously. I only WISH there had been something.,anything..no matter how big or small that I would have read in a big magazine, small magzine anywhere before Kell was born. Totlally accurate or inaccurate. To hear anything would have been a comfort when they dropped that bomb on me "not knowing what my kid was".
20/20 contacted me yesterday. What a BIG show.
The article WAS interesting enough to make 20/20 want to look into this further. In my opinion. - that means whatever Time chose to keep for the article- made 20/20 take a look and want to elaborate even more on this. In essence the article worked to move things forward even more.
Good work, Elijah, Jules and Sherri! And thank you for being a part of the article!!
I agree with the person that said
"had to most likely be contained within a format to
where the "meal " would be "digestible" to the general
public. So extensive editing was , in all likelihood , applied
to all of the contents and context of the interviewers and
interviewees. In that respect, the article was succinct
and accurate (disregarding the issue of semantics, of
ourse). It was an Intersex Primer, for Time is , after all,
a media to disseminate world/people "events" to a
public that, as Andi put it, has been entrenched
in "binary gender "fact" they've grown up believing in."
Any more "detail" or "extra fixings" to the "meal" may
have been incomprehensible ( as in sensory overload)"
If I decide to do 20/20...Bodies WILL get mentioned. ISNA WILL get mentioned. They both serve our community and deserve to be mentioned.
I will stress those things I felt the article didnt cover, mistakenly misquoted, or eluded too,,I will make it known no one is advocating a 3rd sex. To just be offered that opporitunity because of teh Time article makes me feel it was worth every minute.
So- please feel comforted..bigger and better things are coming from this "just ok" article. I think Wendy did a good job and took in alot of information. She kept telling me she wanted to keep it real and personal. She didnt want it to be exploitive on Kelli's part ,I know, and I appreciated her efforts and told her so.The editors chopped it all up I am sure. Who knows what their personal opinions are and how they comprhended alot fo the more technical stuff etc.....
Lets all be grateful to be heard on whatever level we managed to get from them.
I agree with the comment that was made that we 'used' each other.
I have learned form dealing with the media, jopurnalists, magazines, newspapers and T.v. that we cannot control everything that goes in.
We can only do OUR best to make the word get out there. In the near future we will THANK this magazine more than we are now. You just watch. I will keep you all posted about 20/20.
Deb
Yeah, the article didn't go far enough, but it's a very visible start. And 20/20 might shed some more light, hopefully in a good way.
*keeping fingers crossed*
Oh BTW, the CNN home page is highlighting the article in Time today.
Glenn
Posted By Debbie:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I truly understand your disappointment Betsy. The reporter had told me that they cut and cut and cut things to make the article fit.And yes, had they cut Kells and my part out I would have felt just like you perhaps.
I can't help but feel AT LEAST the word got OUT. Not all correct...not complete but its out there. FINALLY.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Betsy, MARK MY WORDS, no good deed will go unrewarded.
I'm sure that wonderfull things will happen for you as well.
BLO just might do better then you think! WIth just a little more exposure anything can happen soon. :)
I have been getting realy warm feedback about the topic of intersex. "Time" did make this a very interesting article for someone who has heard nothing abut this before. At my job, 80% the people I work with who read this article, were learning about intersex for the first time. Yes, when I talk about it, I talk about BLO.
That is good news Debbie! I feel that a lot of good things have happend, so far. Lets keep it going.
Miriam wrote:
People with the syndrome of Down are not [called] Downers, so why does Time call us intersexuals? Well, I assume it takes some Time to get things changed.
I agree with Miriam. SO glad to hear I am not alone in this opinion.
To me, labels are for identity politics, and I hate identity politics.
Meresa
Intersexed, but not an "intersexual" :D
Jessie!! or.. LOST !! Your posts have made me laugh, and think.
I like what you have brought to this site!! Good posts!!!
I don't like saying I have a "intersexed condition". call me different.
I use "conditioner" when my hair is dry.
I don't have any "conditions" I suffer with!
I put on "skin conditioner" when my hands are dry.
I can still be intersexed, live a normal life and not have a 'condition' because I'm intersexed.
If I say I'm a female intersexual all it implys is that I have a sexual diffrence that make me biologicaly diffrent then a male or female.
Intersexualism in my view, does not mean I'm thinking I'm a third sex, I just have a biology that is diffrent.
Yes, I had operations, yes, when I was sick in the hosptial, with bladder infections. My "intersexed condition" if I had one, was delt with.
But now that I'm happy and healthy, do I still have a condition?:confused:
Maybe that works for some of you, this is all subjective.
I can handle being called a intersexual, or intersexed.
I do not have any "condition", I just am, intersexed.
Dana Gold
02-27-04, 12:36 PM
quote:
But now that I'm happy and healthy, do I still have a condition?
THAT is so good! I feel the same about me. Constantly hearing: condition this , 3rd sex that., inter-this, trans-that, something-sexual...For cryin' out loud!, I'm a human being.....not a hyphenated human being AND I define who I am, NOT others!!
I just happen to be "uniquely" different. But then again, every human being has some kind of "condition" or "uniqueness" or difference.....not just intersexed people.
PS: I like your apartment and the floral arrangement on the furniture in the background, Jules;)
"I'm a human being, godammit!; my life has value!"
Peter Finch (actor) from the movie Network (mid-70's)
BYE!
Dana:)
Thanks jules ,,, I feel really good right now, because sometime I worry that my ramblings might hurt someones feelings , or be misunderstood.
When I write stuff, it is usually just for my own benefit,,, and I am not to be taken too seriously.
I look forward to reading things you post , as you make me think alot too. Its hard to see the big picture at times regarding intersex issues , and I thank you for broadening my view.
I see your point about the whole "condition " thing. when you put it that way.
I could see myself caring , if I was all stable ,,,,,and had come to terms with everything,,,,,,,,, but I guess i can't really care about what I'm called ,, when I'm not certain who I am , or exactly how I fit into the world. I am just trying to discover that now, and every day I am just thankful that I feel like I belong.
I don't wake up in the morning feeling like I'm going to throw -up, because I realized , for the 10,000th day in a row that my life is for real. It is not some nightmare brought on from eating to many pickles................ no ,,,, this is real ,,,,,,,I am this freak of nature ,, no one wants to deal with.................... Ewe ,,, get away from us you freak....... your grossing us normal people out..........
I don't think that way anymore,,,,,,,, now that I know there's a ton of people just like me.
I don't give two shits what they call us ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,because it's "us" now ,,,,,,,, not "I" .
And for some reason ,,, that has made all the difference to me,, and I wake up each morning with a smile on my face and excited to see what the day will bring................
For me I am just happy not to think or be called a freak anymore.
I am more than happy to have a condition. lol ,,,,,,, but I totally see things from your eyes as well ,,, and I'm positive I will feel the same way later.
I have to admit though ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I am starting to wonder if this whole 1-1000 are intersexed is true ,,,,,,,,,,,,Could be crap made up by doctors ,, so that we wouldn't feel so alone in the world ,,and start offing ourselves.
1-1000 ,,,,,,,? do there include say a guy thats penis is a little curved , but still normal size ? or what if I was born with a mole on my genitals , and they snipped it off at birth ,, are they going to send me home and record me as being born intersexed?
If it is 1-1000 ,,,, then how come monica can't find one single intersexed friend in an area of 4 million people? hmmmmmm?
according to these stats,,,,, there should be 4000 intersexed people in her area . are none of them around monicas age ?
things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmm.
I was at a site just today (I will not mention the address,, as i will not promote such garbage) they said under their defenition of intersex: as many as 1-300 are intersexed ,,, and that you can be born intersexed or become intersexed later on in life from the intervention of hormones or a DOCTOR !
in that instance ,,,,, I would rather be known as someone who has a "condition" that they were born with. NOT as someone that had their normal parts changed.
Don't get me wrong ,,,,,,,,,, I don't dislike transgendered people.... I think EVERYONE should be accepted for who they are and how they want to be.
But there was a time when I just hated them ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I wanted to kill myself because I didn't have a normal penis........... and here all these frickin guys were ,,, cutting theirs off.......ggrrrrr
I was like hey ,,, give it to me if you don't want it...... lol
But I was young and stupid ,,,,,,,,,,and extremely horny I might add..........and I know better now ............. everyone should have the right to do what ever they want with their body ,,,, after all ,, it is THEIR body....
And thats why we all have to stop these doctors ,,from slicing up little babies ,,,,,,,,,before they can speak for themselves... gggrrrr
Peace out and love hard everyone.............
ps.- why don't betsy have no file cabs? whats up with that?
Pss- no doctors were harmed during the making of this letter....:(
I just happen to be "uniquely" different. But then again, every human being has some kind of "condition" or "uniqueness" or difference.....not just intersexed people.
Quite true... Many years ago I studied massage, and one of my classmates was a sculptor who had done extensive cadaver studies to understand anatomy. Of the fifty people he examined, every single one of them had aspects which you wouldn't expect from Gray's Anatomy. Nobody was "normal."
Food for thought.
Glenn
Betsy
Thank you for your request.
There are a couple of options for electronic use of our content. Our policy has changed since we have a paid, content archive on HYPERLINK "http://www.time.com/"www.tHYPERLINK "http://www.time.com/"ime.com Our content is now for subscriber use only.
1 )If you wish to link to articles on Time.com, there is no charge for the link. However, when a reader clicks on the article they will only see an excerpt, unless they pay a fee to read the entire article.
2)If you wish to post the article onto to your website, there is a 1-year fee of $1,000 per article . The license fee is for text only, since we do not own the rights to the images.
We can provide you with the file. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
TIME Reprints and Permissions
Betsy Driver wrote:
Bodies Like Ours, a non-profit organization, would like to request
permission to include a pdf of the article "Between the Sexes" written by
Wendy Cole and published in the issue dated 3/1/04. Our website is at
http://www.bodieslikeours.org. Thank-you in advance for your consideration.
Betsy Driver
Executive Director
Bodies Like Ours
http://www.bodieslikeours.org
PO Box 1732
Easton, PA 18044
610-258-7466 voice
610-258-6631 fax
Billie Q.
03-04-04, 11:08 AM
I had occasion to read the TIME article at the Emergency Hospital Sunday (my 10 year old cat is dying of renal failure). Glad I got to read it for free, because there's no way I'd purchase it.
The picture of Kelli with Deb looking on made me smile. And I needed a smile that day.
I stand by my earlier comments about TIME: "ceased to be new and fresh many moons ago; is only interested in sexy content because sex sells," etc.
PS I don't welcome, nor do I expect any smart-ass replies to this post. Thanks.
Originally posted by Billie Q.
I stand by my earlier comments about TIME: "ceased to be new and fresh many moons ago; is only interested in sexy content because sex sells," etc.
Are you trying to tell me I looked sexy in "Time"?
Well...geee....Thanks!!! :D
This is a support group.
The whole point of a forum is that we can look back, once we have been posting for a while, at how we form our ideas and who's ideas we share and what ideas our are own.
We all should feel free to post what we feel.
:)
Sorry to hear about your cat. My Dog as back leg problems so I understand pet problems:(
(my 10 year old cat is dying of renal failure)
ohhh...BQ Jules, this is a bummer to hear. You may recall me losing my Atlas cat to renal failure when I was still living in Atlanta. it sucked so I know what you are going through. Call if you need to talk or anything.
Betsy
Dana Gold
03-04-04, 04:49 PM
"If you wish to post the article onto to your website, there is a 1-year fee of $1,000 per article . The license fee is for text only, since we do not own the rights to the images. "
SO! If they use the images ANYWHERE else w/o permission or license fee FROM BLO.......then they are infringing rights and may be subject to legal action....................
'what goes around, comes around":D
A lesson to be learned in future endeavors with publishers and magazine houses.
PS: sorry for all of your pets' health problems; As a child, before I had the friend (mentally handicapped) I mentioned in an earlier post, I had a dog, Fritzi, my then constant companion. An unknown someone, it was reported, "snatched" him; never to be seen again. Anyway......:(
Billie Q.
03-04-04, 08:11 PM
Originally posted by Betsy
ohhh...BQ Jules, this is a bummer to hear. You may recall me losing my Atlas cat to renal failure when I was still living in Atlanta. it sucked so I know what you are going through. Call if you need to talk or anything.
Betsy
Thank you Betsy. Yes, I remember when you lost Atlas. It's hard, isn't it?
Originally posted by Billie Q.
Thank you Betsy. Yes, I remember when you lost Atlas. It's hard, isn't it?
Losing a beloved pet is always tough. I lost my favorite cat (a siamese female named Abby) to kidney failure back in the 80s.She got into some antifreeze and we had to put her down. It was like losing a family member (which she was of course). I was there when she had kittens, and had to watch her cry later on when we gave them away. She was my favorite and would always cuddle me when I was sad.
Hope you find peace and comfort during this tough time.
Billie Q.
03-05-04, 09:22 AM
Originally posted by Meresa
Losing a beloved pet is always tough. I lost my favorite cat (a siamese female named Abby) to kidney failure back in the 80s.She got into some antifreeze and we had to put her down. It was like losing a family member (which she was of course). I was there when she had kittens, and had to watch her cry later on when we gave them away. She was my favorite and would always cuddle me when I was sad.
Hope you find peace and comfort during this tough time.
Thank you Meresa, for your kindness. The doctor called me with the numbers (creatine, kidney, etc.) and expressed shock that my Sasha was still alive, let alone eating and drinking.
But she's a very strong cat; the best huntress around, a good friend, and I will miss her so very much.
I treasure these last few days? weeks? months? with her.
Dana Gold
04-06-04, 07:52 PM
I have up to this time wondered why absolutely no reply letters to Time (regards March 1st article about Intersex) were ever included in the Letters section. Below is one:
http://tgcrossroads.org/news/?aid=817
the actua article from above link:
Intersex Individual Speaks Out on the Marriage Issue
Editorial to Time Magazine Points Out Flaws of "One Man-One Woman" Definition
by "Jane Doe" Bloomington, Indiana
3/5/2004
To the Editor of Time:
Your March 1 articles on gay marriage and intersexed individuals: "Between the Sexes" (page 54) and "I do...no, you don't! (page 40) sum up the complexity of defining marriage in this country.
We can all debate whether marriage for gays and lesbians should or should not happen, but those of us in the intersex community dread someone defining marriage. I have Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) and never knew until I was 35. Though I look female, I have XY chromosomes and was born with testes. It would be incorrect to describe me as biologically male or female -- I am biologically intersexed. As an intersexed person, who do my politicians think I am supposed to marry? How can they define for me marriage as one man-one woman?
I believe it will be impossible for the courts to achieve any functioning definition of "man" and "woman". Some estimates today show that 1 baby out of 100 is born intersexed in some manner. What combination of factors will our legislators or courts use to determine whether I am male or female to defend marriage? Chromosomes? Gonads? Appearance of genitals? Gender identity? Something else?
Those who support the gay marriage ban argue that the rights of gays and lesbians are not abridged because they are permitted to marry, just not to the partner of their choice. The same right exists for intersex individuals, yet without any explanation of how their sex is to be determined. I would submit that my biological reality wins over any fixed definition.
Marriage is, of course, a fundamental right. As such, every individual should be entitled to enter into marriage. Any legislation introduced seeking to bar marriage for gays and lesbians will hurt those of who are intersexed.
No media outlet will ever print an anonymously written letter.
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