Hello,

Hopefully no one will mind me posting to the message board. I am not myself intersexed, but I am doing research for a friend who does not have easy access to the Internet.

My friend, Bren, is for all appearances an attractive woman in her early twenties. However, on a few occasions she had expressed life-long feelings of uncertainty regarding her gender identity. As a child she would tell other children that she used to be a boy, but had turned into a girl. As an adult, she did not feel that she should be male, but she often did not feel that she was really female. I myself am transgender (Male-to-Female), and during a recent discussion about this topic, she revealed that there had been some unusual experiences during her early childhood.

Apparently, for the first half hour of her life she was believed to be a boy. Only after closer examination was it discovered that she was actually a girl but her clitoris was enlarged. She does not have any memory of surgical procedures being done, but does remember that for years her mother would wake her up early in the morning to take medicine “for ear-aches”. Bren does not display any overtly masculine traits. She is tall for a girl, probably around 5’ 9”, and does have somewhat masculine hands which she is very sensitive about. She is also bi-sexual and has had long-term relationships with both men and women. She has never been to a gynecologist.

At one point I had been tested for Kleinfelter’s syndrome due to a noticeable lack of masculine features, so I had already done some research on Intersex conditions. When she described her experiences, this immediately sprang to mind. After doing some preliminary research, the condition that seems to most closely fit her description is Progestin Induced Virilization (although she wasn’t born until the early ‘80’s, when Progestin was no longer prescribed to prevent miscarriages). However, there is a lack of information on PIV on the Internet. I had hoped to find other peoples’ descriptions of their experiences, to see if they were similar, but none seem to be available.

I was hoping that someone on the board might know where I could find more information on Progestin Induced Virilization, or if anyone knows of any other conditions that may match what she has experienced. I appreciate your time and will be very thankful for any assistance you may offer.

Thank you,

Lisa Smith

Hi Lisa,

You might do a search and see if you can find Kiira Triea's e-mail address. She had Progestin Induced Virilization and was raised a boy until she started having her periods.

I'm not sure what to make of the earache medicine. That could have been most anything and I can't think of how it would relate to PIV since I don't think PIV requires medication.

There are a number of women who were born with a larger than average clitoris and who have no detectable hormonal imbalance. PIV certainly involves a hormonal imbalance but it is exogenous and ends at birth.

Your friend should probably see a gynecologist occasionally anyway. Perhaps someone knows one who is sensitive enough to understand her and help her find answers. Do you mind telling us where you live?

Kind regards,
cj

Thank you for the information CJ.

We live in Orlando, Florida. And yes, my friend should definitely be seeing a gynecologist for her own health in general.

It my very well prove to be nothing, but it seemed like something she was seriously questioning. With the circumstance at birth combined with her gender issues, I thought it was worth looking in to. I have suggested that she talk to her parents about this if she feels comfortable, and to try to get hold of her medical records as well.

Thanks again,

Lisa

It's also called Progestin Induced Androgenization (PIA), which can be handy for doing searches.

Glenn