A year ago today, these are the two live videos of what Judi Herring, M.D. and I shared to the City Council, regarding getting the Jacksonville, Florida, LGBT Human Rights Ordinance, back in January of 2016.
Sharing again, because this ‘LGBT HRO’ did not pass. This was about a year ago today:
What Judi Herring, M.D. said:
“Clearly, all of you know that as legislators it is your responsibility to be fully informed, and in the matter of the HRO, being fully informed means being informed about the natural variations that occur in sex development. That’s something that’s a pertinent issue as one considers the language: words like ‘natural’ and ‘biologic’ and the labels that have been moved around. That includes being aware of people with intersex traits.
Just to be clear there’ve been a lot of statistics discussed. At the very least the statistics support that the incidence of people born with intersex traits is 1 in 2000, which is the same as in with redheads. But in reality, it is probably more frequent than that.”
“Obviously you know it is your responsibility to be informed. I want to offer a couple of references — one will only take 14 minutes. It’s available on YouTube. It talks about the naturally occurring variations of gender and sex development. The name is ‘Gender Bound: Lessons from the World Between.’ Fourteen minutes will allow you to have a broader perspective about the legislative downstream implications of what you’re considering.
For those who are looking toward a faith-based reference, there is a writer who released a book in 2014, I believe. The name is Megan DeFranza. Megan is an Evangelical Christian who explored the details of gender relative to her interest in becoming a theologian and discovered intersex and has a very rigorous analysis of the biblical and religious text that address that.”
What I said back in 2016 and still holds true to day, since the HRO did not pass last year:
“I was born intersex and I am one of those very rare people that are hardly ever heard.
I am not part of the LGBT acronyms, but yet, if the HRO is not passed, it is going to affect my family.
I was born, was declared female, was raised female, and it was not my true gender, and it made me extremely sick.
I’ve been with my husband for 20 years, we’ve been together as a couple for 27. I have 3 children, we adopted our youngest, and we now appear as a gay couple. And I am being mixed up as transgender. Even prior to my reclaiming my gender, I received prejudice in the hospitals here in Jacksonville as an intersex person because of my body being what it is.
Now that I am reclaiming myself and we appear a gay couple, it becomes even more confusing to people. This is a serious situation where we receive the collateral damage of such ordinances not being passed because of people not paying attention to all the different types of human beings that are out there.
Intersex traits are as common as redheads. This is pretty serious here. That means there are going to be babies born right here in Jacksonville like me if given the right to express their true gender that are going to look queer, that are not going to fit into your binary boxes, and may appear lesbian or gay or transgender. This is a huge problem.
There is no correct bathroom for me. And not once have I ever thought of doing anything strange in the bathrooms.
The fear and ignorance I am hearing is profound, and as an intersex person I hope that each and every one of you educate yourself about gender because it’s very concerning to me what I see happening to my transgender friends, what I see happening to my gay and lesbian friends, and it is definitely a concern when I see all the harm that has been done to the intersex community because of this lack of understanding around gender.”
Today the LGBT HRO has still not passed:
It is now 2017, and after two failed attempts in trying to get the LGBT HRO passed, the Equality groups are still trying. Maybe this year will be the year.
You can read more here: It’s Time to Update Jacksonville’s Human Rights Ordinance and Group outlines new bid for HRO protections
End Note:
Here are two links to the things Judi referred to in her speech to the City Council below:
1) TEDx Talk, Gender Bound, with Judi Herring, M.D.:
2) Here is a faith based book, by Dr. Megan DeFranza: “Sex Difference in Christian Theology: Male, Female, and Intersex in the Image of God: Male, Female, and Intersex in the Image of God”
Below is a video about this: “Lianne Simon and Dr. Megan DeFranza: Intersex Christians and the Image of God”
Memes I made regarding my frustration around “LGBT” excluding “intersex”, here in Jacksonville, Florida:
~.V.~
Mx. Anunnaki Ray Marquez 