From a young age, many of us are taught to see the world in binary structures: love and hate, hot and cold, right or wrong. The list can go on and on. With any binary, though, there can be a grey area, forming something more like a spectrum.
In middle school sex education, I was taught that boys are born with penises and girls are born with vaginas. This too, is a binary that we’re taught to see. It wasn’t until later in life that I was taught there is also a spectrum when it comes to sex traits. Learning that sex traits aren’t binary opened a door for me in my education, and I’m hoping that on this Intersex Awareness Day, the door can be opened for you too.
What is Intersex?
The term intersex refers to a spectrum of natural variations in sexual or reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, and secondary sex traits. Researchers report that 1-2% of the U.S. population is intersex, displaying variations that do not fit the binary of male sex traits or female sex traits. Here are some examples of intersex variation:
A person may be born with chromosomes that differ from XX or XY, such as XYY or even XO (with the “O” indicating the lack of a second chromosome).
A person may be born with both testicular and ovarian tissue.
A person may have a large clitoris, but their labia are still fused.
In some cases, people don’t realize they’re intersex until later in life. Some may find out during puberty, others may find out in adulthood, and some may never find out.
Origins of Intersex Awareness Day
In 1996, the American Academy of Pediatrics in Boston held one of its annual conferences. Outside, the Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) and allies from the activist group Transexual Menace protested with a banner that said “Hermaphrodites with Attitude.” This was the first official intersex demonstration in United States history.
Later, in 2003, Betsy Driver (an intersex rights advocate who is also the first openly intersex elected official in the U.S) and Emi Koyoma (an intersex and social justice activist who founded the Intersex Initiative) worked today founding a day of recognition for intersex persons, settling on October 26th—the same day the ISNA protest occurred. And just like that, Intersex Awareness Day was born. Starting out as a “grassroots effort to raise awareness around intersex,” Intersex Awareness Day has blossomed into an internationally recognized event.
Challenges FACED BY the Intersex Community
(Content Note: non-consensual surgeries and infant death)
Intersex persons—insofar as they are intersex—are often pathologized in a manner that leads to social stigma. This stigma has led to the normalization of non-consensual surgeries, including procedures such as clitoroplasty (alteration or creation of a clitoris), vaginoplasty (alteration or creation of a vulva and/or vagina), gonadectomy (removal of gonads), and removing a working urethra.
These surgeries are non-consensual because they tend to occur right after a child is born. If parents lack education regarding the potential harms of these medical procedures, they may consent—on behalf of their child—to something that will have detrimental effects on their child later down the line. Additionally, these surgeries reinforce the gender binary and also reinforce the idea that there’s something that needs to be “fixed” with intersex people. This, however, is misguided: intersex variations are natural, and there is nothing medically “wrong” with intersex people.
Unfortunately, in some cultures, intersex children might even face the risk of infanticide. When a child is born with overtly ambiguous genitalia, some cultures believe the child is a bad omen or bewitched. Depending on cultural practices, children might be abandoned or even killed. In cases where the babies grow up, they may be harassed, have their genitals mutilated, or be forced to seek asylum to escape targeted danger.
How to Advocate for and Celebrate Intersex Awareness Day
Thankfully, researchers have been finding ways to tackle the ethics of medical practices regarding non-consensual surgeries. Kevin Behrens discusses the importance of implementing medical principles that call for medical professionals to question whether intersex surgeries are required out of medical necessity or if the surgery can go undone until the child is old enough to consent. Additionally, this year InterACT is highlighting Medical Voices for Intersex Choices through a social media toolkit. The work that InterACT and Behrens are doing to accentuate a call to action is phenomenal work, and it can be implemented in our everyday lives. Keeping yourself educated to help speak out against unethical medical practices is key, and for those persons who are intersex or are parents of intersex children, knowing your Health Care Rights is crucial.
You can get directly involved in many ways to honor and celebrate Intersex Awareness Day. You can post educational content to your social media page, fly a flag, raise funds for intersex organizations, educate yourself on intersex-inclusive language, and so much more. Additionally, if you miss your chance to celebrate Intersex Awareness Day on October 26th, keep an eye out for Intersex Day of Solidarity, which falls on November 8th.
Of course, celebrating the intersex community on these days is fantastic—but just know your celebration should carry on past October 26th and November 8th! There is so much stigma and homogenization that has shaped the way our society views the intersex community, and to break down these barriers, it’s important to continuously advocate and educate. We at the Sexual Health Alliance move in solidarity with intersex folks and wish you all a joyous day today and every day!
Written by Jess Pearse (she/they).
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