Here is another sad example of Intersex Erasure:

Recently they have been trying to get the senate to pass a bill that would require Sex Ed to be LGBTQ inclusive.  This would be progress, this would be awesome even.  However, it still does not include intersex, nor the teaching of our intersex bodies. It is another example of intersex erasure.  Below I explain how this hurts us people born intersex.

By changing culture and educating about us intersex people, it is my hope they will stop surgically, hormonally, and medically erasing our bodies at birth, and during our lives.  The abortion of healthy intersex babies might stop too.  Our births would no longer be so scary, stigmatizing and create so much fear.  The world would learn that no body is shameful.  Please help us intersex activists, speakers and educators end inters erasure.  Allowing our bodies to co-exist on this planet can only happen if we change culture, and educate this world.

You can read the above article here: Senate Bill Would Require Sex Ed to be LGBTQ-Inclusive, Medically Accurate

When did I get sex education about my body:

I did not get taught the truth about my body until I was 46 years old, and this is just wrong. It lead to my being suicidal, self hate, being raised the wrong gender, being an outcast, being medically abused and violated, misunderstood by my family, and being abused by society.   I know other intersex have experienced the same thing.  Intersex erasure can end lives.

Most of my education, about my body, came from other intersex educators and activists.  Such as Cary G. Costello, and Hida Viloria.  My doctors did not even teach me the truth about my body, until I fortunately met two new doctors recently.  They have helped me finally makes sense out of my body, and my gender.

In this country many still say it is ok to say “Disorder of Sex Development”, or even call my condition a “syndrome”.  Even if we flower it all up and say “Difference of Sex Development”, by changing the “D” to mean something else,  it still  stigmatizing in my opinion.  I would rather be called a hermaphrodite, before being called “DSD”.  However,   hermaphrodite is also a word that some intersex people find very stigmatizing.  So please always ask if it is ok to say hermaphrodite.  A few of us don’t mind it, some of us do.

To me my biological sex is simply “intersex”.

I am simply an intersex person, or an intersex man.  The truth is, when describing biological sex (our physical bodies),  we have female, male and intersex.   At this time an intersex person can not accurately mark their sex on any government forms  yet.  There are only two boxes.  I am not allowed to mark both boxes and their is no third option.  I personally wish all the boxes would vanish.

We Offered to educate the schools and were told “NO”:

As an activist and educator I offered to educate our schools, with Judi Herring, M.D.,  in our county, I was told it was “adult content” to teach about intersex. That they would never allow it. How can teaching about the varieties of biological sex, and the truth about it be adult content? It is not.  The same county then went to teach all the 6th graders about the dangers of sex predators and “sexting”. Which I agree needed to be done; but this was seen appropriate and not “adult content”.

So, what is my sex, gender, gender expression, and sexual orientation: 

I will end this blog with a bit more education around being born intersex.  To be born intersex has nothing to do with our gender. An intersex person can have absolutely any gender. They can be cis-gender (agree with their birth assignment), typical female or male, gender fluid, gender queer, inter-gender, transgender, and so many more. We can also have any sexual orientation (who we prefer to have sex with), or gender expression (how we dress).

For me my gender could be described as “androgynous male”, “Non-conforming male”, or even “gender queer”.   I am ok with all those.  My gender expression is mostly conforming to male, but a bit more extravagant and androgynous.  My sexual orientation would appear Heterosexual when I appeared female to this world, but now would be assumed “gay” now that I appear male.  I think “intersexual” could be used as a sexual orientation to describe my husband and me.  I write about that here: Is my husband gay, now that I appear a man? I will use “Intersexual” as a Sexual Orientation and Are my Husband and I Gay Men Now? How We Became Sexual Minorities, Our Intersex Love Story.

Here is another link that might interest you in learning more about human sexuality: Helpful LGBTQIA+ Definitions of Human Sexuality

Thank you for reading, and helping us to change culture, and make this world for all of us.

A Hermaphrodite or Intersex  (Third Gender) Flag used in Germany.

Here are five different intersex flags seen around the world. 

~.V.~