Actually Intersex

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A lemmy community by and for intersex people. Perisex (non-intersex) people can participate but respect the vibe.

To subscribe from another lemmy instance search for !intersex@lemmy.blahaj.zone

RULES:

  1. Be kind to one another.
  2. No harassment or hate speech.
  3. Be as accessible as you can.
  4. This is a space for intersex people. Perisex people may participate but don't be disruptive. This isn't a place for you to work out your intersexism.

GROUND TRUTHS:

  1. Intersex is a big tent. Some people see intersex in medical terms. Some people see intersex through the social model. Some see it as a mix. Some people see intersex as queer. Some see intersex as disabled/crip. Some see it as both. You get the deal. There's no single way to be intersex.
  2. Anybody who experiences or is vulnerable to intersexism gets to call themself intersex if they want. That includes people with PCOS hyperandrogenism, people with Poland syndrome, and people who don't have diagnoses.
  3. TERFs and the alt-right are on a campaign to convince people that intersex is rare, biological sex is simple, and actually intersex people aren't the experts on who is intersex. We need to resist this.
  4. Solidarity with the trans community. While intersex and transness are distinct, our communities have fundamental common ground in being threats to cisperinormitivity.

founded 1 year ago
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It's a personal mash-up of the Agender, Intersex and Transgender symbols, and a little bit of inspiration from dog desexing tattoos. I'd been questioning since late puberty if I might be Intersex, I never grew an Adam's apple and hardly any body hair despite family genetics. I came out as trans femme non-binary in my early 20s, but it wasn't until the third doctor I saw for hormones that questioned if I might have an intersex condition. The first doctor I saw never questioned that my T was well below the male range because I wanted to start HRT anyway. But he also still put me on T-blockers which have some awful side-effects, including dropping my T to completely zero. Thankfully I'm off those these days and estrogen alone keeps my T where it needs to be.

The last test that she ran was for sterility, so the day I got that result was when I got my official diagnosis. I'd never really wanted kids of my own, and didn't worry when starting HRT, but it still really shook me to learn that I'm not able too. Hence, I dropped into my local tattoo parlour with a rough sketch, because the adrenaline and pain from that helped me deal with my emotions in a more healthy way.

Anyway, hi, I'm Norah and that's my story :)

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I co-organize an online intersex-themed book club. It's a place for intersex people to meet fellow intersex people and talk about intersex themes in literature. Perisex allies are welcome too.

We're reading the Left Hand of Darkness this month, next month we're gonna read a little bit of academic intersex studies, and looks like in October we'll be reading some short stories.

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Saw it posted on tumblr. No idea how the findings hold up in 2023 or internationally but still really sweet to learn more about other intersex people!

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Another meme from r/intersex that made me happy.

Alt-text: "There are only two biological human sexes". Tuvok from Star Trek Voyager is captioned "science" and says no. Kim from Voyager is captioned "intersex-phobes" and says yes.

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Haven't seen the movie yet but I am pumped!

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From trans-axolotl on tumblr, I find it helpful for sharing with perisex friends!

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A big list of intersex media from intersex-support on tumblr! Please add any others you know in the comments! :)

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So glad I saw this video before actually trying to read it, and glad to have it on hand every time I see Middlesex get put on lists of queer books (sigh)

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Alt text: scene from the Matrix. Morpheus shows Neo the red and blue pills, which are labelled "Broad shoulders, muscle mass, and a beard" and "Wide hips, narrow waist, and breasts". Neo is shown with "my puberty". Then Morpheus asking "Did you just take both pills?"