Oii Australia – Intersex Australia

Oii Australia – Intersex Australia

Intersex for allies
By Morgan on 21 November 2012 in Brochures and reports downloads, Conferences and events, FAQs / Key Data.

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Last updated: 17 September 2013.

Information for intersex allies
What is intersex?

Intersex is a term which relates to a range of biological traits or variations that lie between “male” and “female”. Intersex people are born with chromosomes, genitals, and/or reproductive organs that are traditionally considered to be both “male” and “female,” neither, or atypical. Many forms of intersex exist; it’s a spectrum or umbrella term, rather than a single category. Intersex is testable: intersex differences may be apparent at birth, and some common intersex variations can be diagnosed, if tested, prenatally. Some intersex variations become apparent at puberty, when trying to conceive, or through random chance.

Are intersex individuals hermaphrodites?

Biologically speaking, no. Hermaphrodites (such as snails, some fish) possess fully functioning sets of both “male” and “female” sex organs. This is impossible in humans and other mammals. Culturally and linguistically, the word originates in the Greek myth of Hermaphroditus – who was both male and female – having elements of both sexes. Historically, some intersex diagnoses were termed “pseudo-hermaphrodites” or “true-hermaphrodites”. While some intersex people use the term, others consider it stigmatizing due to a history of medicalisation. If in doubt, it’s best only used by intersex people.

How many intersex people are there?

It is difficult to obtain precise statistics because accurate statistics of intersex births and adults are not recorded. The lowest popular statistic estimates intersex people account for .05% of the human population (1 in 2000 births), and the highest 4%. Fausto-Sterling puts the intersex prevalence figure at around 1.7%, making intersex as common as red-hair.

Do intersex individuals need “treatment” by clinicians? Are they sick?

There are few instances when a child’s intersex variation poses health risks that require immediate medical attention. Rather, intersex people, like all people, have health issues. For example, being a female is not in and of itself a health problem but there are issues specific to being “female,” such as ovarian cancer. Intersex people frequently need hormone replacement, and this is often required as a result of childhood medical intervention.

Why are intersex individuals subjected to medical treatment?

Medical intervention is used to attempt to make intersex individuals’ bodies conform to “male” or “female” standards. A 2006 “Consensus Statement” on the medical management of intersex defined the rationale for infant genital surgery as including “minimizing family concern and distress” and “mitigating the risks of stigmatization and gender-identity confusion”. Current Australian protocols are based on this. At a fundamental level, homophobia, intolerance and ancient superstitions underpin contemporary mistreatment of intersex people. Medical interventions intrinsically focus on appearance, and not sensation or sexual function. A wealth of studies have shown that medically unnecessary “normalizing” interventions are physically and emotionally harmful. Childhood cosmetic genital surgeries also problematic in that children cannot consent to them. Very many intersex people suffer the effects of surgery, and of related shame and secrecy. Adolescents – and even adults – have also reported feeling pressured, by their parents’ and/or doctors’ recommendations to conform to societal norms. Some doctors still believe that disclosure of their status would be too alarming.

What is DSD? Is this the same as intersex?

In 2006, the medical community replaced the term intersex with “Disorders of Sex Development” (DSD). DSD is problematic because it reinforces the idea that intersex is an individual medical condition that can be fixed, even though our natural bodies are most often healthy. Today, some intersex people use the label – especially those who were taught DSD by their parents or doctors since the term’s inception. Intersex people are free to label themselves however they choose – just as some gays, lesbians and trans people do not label themselves with those terms but view their sexual orientation or gender identity as a disorder, or something in need of correction. Health bodies even talk of “men who have sex with men” rather than simply “gay men”.

OII believes that stigmatising language leads to poor mental health, marginalisation, and exclusion from human rights and social institutions. We recommend the term “intersex” to promote equality and human rights for people born with atypical sex anatomy.

Do all intersex individuals identify as either male or female?

Intersex is not a gender identity, rather it is a lived experience of the body. Every intersex person has a gender identity. Intersex individuals may identify as male, female, intersex, both, between, or none of these. Passports with an ‘X’ sex descriptor have been available since 2003. 2013 federal guidelines now extend this option across departments and agencies as an option for all adults. Intersex – and other – people are free to choose an ‘X’ if they wish.

Are intersex people transgender?

A minority of intersex people change their gender, and some of them may self-identify as trans, but almost all intersex people have had medical treatment to confirm their sex. Often that intervention was non-consensual. Many will not fully identify with their assigned binary gender. This is part of the intersex experience, but it doesn’t make us trans.

Some trans people regard their brain sex as intersex, but reports of similar brain differences for lesbians and gay men are more widely reported and very few people today would regard lesbians and gay men as intersex because of that. There’s stronger evidence of brain plasticity. It’s simply a different issue.

Are intersex people gay or lesbian, or queer?

It depends on the individual, how they define their sex and identity, how they present, and who they form relationships with. Every intersex person is different. Like all people, some intersex individuals are LGBT and others are not, but LGBT activism has fought for the rights of people who fall outside expected binary sex and gender norms. Intersex is part of the LGBTI alliance because of our shared experience of homophobia, not because of sexual orientation or gender identity.

What are intersex activists’ goals?

Our goals are to raise awareness, and achieve an equal place in society. We seek the right to autonomy over our own bodies, the right to a life without discrimination, the right to a life without shame and secrecy.

How to be a good intersex ally: raising awareness
Start conversations about intersex, based on the guidelines in this paper.
Remember that most intersex people prioritize action on human rights abuses such as the non-consensual, irrevocable medical interventions to which we are subjected, rather than intersex as an example of sex and gender theory.
Learn about intersex from intersex people.
Intersex people are the ones best qualified to relay our experiences and needs.
Contact an intersex educator about speaking at your organisation, university, or workplace. (OII Australia has available speakers, contact us through our website).
If unable to meet intersex people, view documentaries, interviews, etc. which feature intersex people telling their own story.
Be intersex-inclusive when LGBT issues affect us too
Use the LGBTI acronym, which includes the “I” for intersex, when relevant in your speech, writing, and/or at your workplace or university.
Don’t extrapolate the experience of intersex people from any understanding of gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans issues. Don’t conflate the issues.
Change your language and your frame of reference.
Include intersex people in governance, not simply as an audience or market.
Don’t assume we’re included if we are not; ask why not. If we are claimed to be included, reflect on whether our inclusion reflects our actual needs and issues.
Make intersex more visible in your resources and on social networking sites.
Incorporate information into other resources, HR materials, employment policies.
“Like” an intersex organization on Facebook and Twitter, such as OII Australia.
Share articles, books, movies, documentaries or presentations about intersex from intersex perspectives.
Remember that intersex people may or may not be:
Visibly or audibly different from gender norms.
Male or female identified; both, between, neither.
A self identified member of an LGBT or LGBTI community.
Post diagnosis; post-surgery.
Self accepting.
Do not make the assumption that intersex is a gender identity or sexual orientation.
Intersex is primarily about the body; misconstruing intersex as a gender identity or a sexual orientation is a sure fire way of alienating an intersex audience.
Do not make the assumption that intersex is a medical condition.
Some intersex individuals don’t use the words “condition,” “syndrome,” etc. when discussing their form of intersex.
Many intersex individuals use the term “intersex variations,” or “intersex traits”, which doesn’t inherently medicalize intersex bodies.
When speaking to intersex individuals:
Remember that being intersex may or may not be a part of their identity.
Do not assume that it is their duty to discuss intersex at any time, or that they will be comfortable discussing all aspects: ask if it’s okay first.
Aim to phrase questions to understand intersex broadly, not in ways that are too personal and invasive.
If you’re in doubt about what pronoun to use, then politely ask.
Ensure questions do not fetishize, stigmatize, or freakify intersex people.
If intersex individuals are not comfortable discussing certain topics. They may:
prefer to have this conversation another time.
wish to have this conversation, but not publicly.
wish to have a conversation about intersex broadly, not personally.
might prefer to point you toward good resources.
they may not wish to have this conversation; it may be too personal.
How to be a good ally: what can I do to help?
Support intersex inclusion in health and human rights initiatives. Support intersex inclusion in LGBTI alliances on the basis of our shared experience of homophobia, and promote the advancement of intersex causes by LGBTI organisations.

Many medical studies of intersex people explicitly identify gender identity issues and non-heterosexual behaviours as being reasons for medical treatment.
Non-consensual surgery on intersex children is an LGBTI issue: it shows what happens when non-heteronormative people are established to be “born this way”.
Ally with us in our call to end normalising surgeries and interventions on infants, children and adolescents
Intersex people are included in campaigns for marriage equality, but not same sex marriage, because marriages in Australia have been annulled on the basis that one party was neither fully male nor fully female.
Federal guidelines mean that Commonwealth institutions are reviewing where they collect sex and gender data, and offering an ‘X’ option. Consider whether or not your organisation, workplace or service provider needs to record information on sex, gender and title. If you do, can you offer an opt out, including where service users have to enter information digitally?

Include intersex in education, service access, and employment policies designed to prevent harassment and discrimination.

“Intersex status” is now recognised in the Sex Discrimination Act through the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Act, 2013
Religious exemptions do not apply in education or aged care, or many other situations; sports and record-keeping exemptions may apply.
Resources
Websites:



Organisation Intersex International Australia website http://oii.org.au

OII Australia on Facebook: http://facebook.com/oii.au

OII Australia on Twitter: http://twitter.com/oiiaustralia

Books:

Katrina Karkazis, 2008, Fixing Sex: Intersex, Medical Authority, and Lived Experience, ISBN 0822343185.

Films:

Intersexion (NZ, 2012), http://intersexionfilm.com
Orchids: My Intersex Adventure (Australia, 2011), http://www.orchids-themovie.com

Acknowledgements

This paper is by OII Australia, based in part on a paper by OII-USA.

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Please note that this document is not referenced, but you’ll find articles and authors mentioned elsewhere on our website.

Quelle: http://oii.org.au/21336/intersex-for-allies/