I Think People Confuse “I Learned About Intersex People and Trans People At The Same Time” With “Intersex People Are Trans”
trans·gen·der/transˈjendər,tranzˈjendər/Learn to pronounceadjective
- denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex.
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cis·gen·der/sisˈjendər/Learn to pronounceadjective
- denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex.
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Intersex conditions–
“Intersex is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male…
…Though we speak of intersex as an inborn condition, intersex anatomy doesn’t always show up at birth. Sometimes a person isn’t found to have intersex anatomy until she or he reaches the age of puberty, or finds himself an infertile adult, or dies of old age and is autopsied. Some people live and die with intersex anatomy without anyone (including themselves) ever knowing.”
From The Intersex Society of North America’s Website https://isna.org/faq/what_is_intersex/
This presents issues where 1. some intersex people are kept in the dark about their chromosomal condition until they self-discover, or find out some other way. 2. some intersex people are aware of their intersex condition from birth and grow and thrive and live happy lives knowing they are intersex— these people are cis, by definition. Born the way they identify.
What’s the difference between being transgender or transsexual and having an intersex condition?
“Many people confuse transgender and transsexual people with people with intersex conditions because they see two groups of people who would like to choose their own gender identity and sometimes those choices require hormonal treatments and/or surgery. These are similarities. It’s also true, albeit rare, that some people who have intersex conditions also decide to change genders at some point in their life, so some people with intersex conditions might also identify themselves as transgender or transsexual.
In spite of these similarities, these two groups should not be and cannot be thought of as one. The truth is that the vast majority of people with intersex conditions identify as male or female rather than transgender or transsexual. Thus, where all people who identify as transgender or transsexual experience problems with their gender identity, only a small portion of intersex people experience these problems.”
From The Intersex Society of North America’s FAQ https://isna.org/faq/transgender/
Also– loads of intersex people are conditioned at birth to be whatever gender the parents decide they act like, or the doctors decide they resemble– which is fucked up, but– a lot of people mention the boy who was in an accident— David Reimer –and this psychologist John Money– they reference it as a huge failure, because it was a tremendous failure. However– David Reimer was born a boy, had a botched circumcision, and was raised as a girl. Not the same life experience– not intersex. Also– David and his brother both killed themselves in adulthood, important to mention– John Money was a doctor pedophile. John Money used this as a way to show evidence that gender was primarily learned, through social conditioning– which it isn’t. Some intersex people live their lives without questioning their identity– out of lack of interest, lack of discord, or learned experience.
So the idea that intersex people are or are not trans is not something a community can “categorize” and is entirely up to the individual and their circumstance. It’s not a big fucking deal. I’ve met an intersex person a while back and she seemed to have absolutely no interest in being transgender. Rightfully so, give their personal history. I’m not sure if he comes around often, but I know she was the most talkative. This individual is not like others, so I think it’s best not to make comparisons, or use them as a frame of reference– however– not all intersex people give a single bit of a shit about being “transgender”. Most of them aren’t, and don’t see themselves in line with that life experience.
Without a doubt– many online memes, pages, resources, subreddits, ect– use intersex people to make a point about how trans people can exist. Myself included. Also– I think it’s a bit overdue somebody called bullshit. At least I can reflect.