Intersex people are among us. They are real!
Imagine that you were born with a penis and boobs!
Imagine if you were born with neither of the two!
Is it only animals that are born hermaphrodites? NO. Humans too.
The term “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.
Otto Orondaam created a Thread on Twitter, where he broke it down to a level anyone can understand and feel.
Read his tweets…
- Imagine if you were born neither male nor female! Your daughter doesn’t have ovaries nor menstruation at puberty! Imagine you got married only to find out your husband is infertile & attracted to men! These are all true stories. Let’s talk about
#Intersex - I know you weren’t expecting such unusual questions but join me with an unbiased mind as we discuss this natural reality which has led us to dehumanize, discriminate and devalue humans who are just different from us, forcing them to hide in shame or commit suicide.
- Now let me use more relatable differences you are familiar with. Imagine you were born with a special condition like Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Sickle Cell Anemia or a Congenital Heart Disorder? Will you be happy if people condemned, jailed or lynched you?
- Some years ago, whenever a beautiful set of twins, albinos or even disabled children were born, traditional and religious leaders will take them away from their parents into the forest and kill them because they were different. They were seen as taboos and termed “abnormal.”
- How about if you were born in “perfect” and “complete” conditions, but somewhere along the line you became disabled like my friend Lara who at the age of 2 started losing her sight and had to learn to use a braille, today she’s over 30, a strong activist & done with her Masters.
- Or Tobi who had cerebral palsy from birth, but was an exceptional student in law school and was part of the team that developed the Disability Act in Nigeria. And Lucy who had polio paralysis but is a multiple Gold medalist representing Nigeria at the Paralympic games.
- While some of these friends were born with some differences, others developed them at some point in life. According to the UN, 1 in 5 humans has one form of disability or difference from what we call “normal” and we all agree that they all deserve our love, care & respect. Right?
- How about black people like you & I, who were once called “abnormal” because of our skin color and forced into slavery, tortured and killed. Or women across the world who are marginalized because of their gender and several other minority groups. Now let’s take this deeper.
- Do you have a friend or sibling or know someone who is neither male nor female? I bet you most likely don’t. Not because they don’t exist, but our society has forced them into hiding due to stigmatization, retribution or total condemnation.
- I personally know some friends who are neither male nor female. I know several doctors who have diagnosed dozens of children and thanks to my medical background I studied about DSD (Differences of Sex Development) and AIS (Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome).
- So DSD is a congenital condition in which the development of chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomical sex is atypical. In simple terms these children can neither be tagged boys or girls at birth and are called Intersex.
- For those of you who studied biology or basic science in school you can remember that there are about 4 factors that determine our sex (boy or girl) as we were taught. Firstly, our Phenotypic Sex, which is the external genital (Penis for male and Vagina for female).
- Secondly, Gonadal Sex, which is our internal sex organs (uterus/ovary for female, testes for male), Thirdly, Genetic Sex which’re chromosomes (XX for female, XY for male) And lastly, Behavioral Sex which’re sex hormones (Testosterone for males, Estrogen/Progesterone for females).
- Now as a boy child I was born with XY chromosomes, my penis on the outside and testes on the inside. My Adrenal glands produced lots of testosterone which made me very masculine. I had broad shoulders, deep voice, produced sperm at puberty & I feel attracted to women.
- For a girl child, she was born with a visible vagina, XX chromosomes, her glands secreted estrogen/progesterone which made her menstruate, develop breasts at puberty and is attracted to men. She also produces very little levels of testosterone compared to the boy.
- We are both termed “normal” but anatomically and physiologically not everyone is like us. In fact, the UN statistics has it that up to 1.7% of the world’s population are neither boys nor Girls. Another estimate says that 1 in 200-500 people today are Intersex.
- These are regular people like you and I (our brothers, friends, sisters, neighbors, etc.) whose anatomy and body physiology is different, but are forced to hide in shame because they will be termed abnormal, sinners or an abomination.
- Diana was a childhood friend and at the age of 18 she had not developed breasts, she had no ovaries & had never menstruated. She was the only girl in her class who had not reached puberty so she was depressed, started having poor grades & had considered suicide severally.
- She was an intersex child & while she grew up as a girl with a vagina, she didn’t know that she had a surgery performed on her when she was 8 months old as she did not have a penis nor vagina. Her poorly developed internal testicles were also removed & she was forced to be a girl.
- Her parents, because of shame, religion and due to an ongoing medical practice, the doctors had to assign her a sex because she must be a boy or a girl. She however had the XY chromosomes which meant she was a boy on the inside but living as a girl on the outside.
- She felt like a boy, she was attracted to girls, her testosterone levels were high, she felt more comfortable wearing male clothes, she was called a tomboy and ridiculed by her peers because she was seen as “abnormal”. This got her always depressed and suicidal.
- And just at the age of 23, when she was about rounding up from medical school she committed suicide. She killed herself in her father’s house. Dave another childhood friend was a boy, but when he was 16 he started developing physical breasts and large hips/buttocks.
- He talked, walked and acted like a girl and suffered from depression due to public ridicule. Adults called him an abomination and our peers always laughed at him. His mum had to take him out of the country because he was suffering from depression & dropped out of school. Intersex people.
- Presently South African Athlete and Olympic gold medalist, Caster Semenya is being forced and punished by the IAAF to reduce her natural testosterone level or quit athletics because they claim she has high testosterone levels which makes her more of a man than a woman.
- Every day thousands of intersex children are born across the world, Africa and Nigeria. Many intersex adults exist but they are forced to hide in shame or flee out of the country because they will be judged, condemned or even lynched because they are termed “abnormal”. Intersexuality.
- While some have noticeable physical traits, others have nonphysical traits. A boy could have a penis on the outside but an XX chromosome on the inside and he thinks and acts like a girl. Or a girl can have a vagina on the outside but at Puberty she doesn’t develop as a girl.
- Some children could have an ambiguous genitalia or hormonal differences called Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome and they will be intersex children. So will this be the fault of nature, our God who created them, or we humans who judge them?
- So, I ask again, what if you were born an Intersex, would you like the world to persecute or force you to hide your truth & identity? Why are we not educated that Intersex people exist? By acting like they don’t exist, we’re betraying friends, destroying homes & failing humanity.
- Diana was a very good friend, she would have been a great medical doctor today. She discovered who she was, what was done to her during her & she couldn’t handle the shame because the world & her peers said she was a taboo and a disgrace to womanhood & that she will burn in hell.
- Caster Semenya is just another woman with high testosterone, she was born that way & must not be punished by the International Association of Athletics Federation. We must do better as humans. These group of people deserve our love, our support & should be respected.
- Because we don’t know something doesn’t make it wrong & because we’ve been taught something doesn’t make it right. Let’s seek for the truth and seize from judging, condemning and killing others based on the myopic lenses we wear. Let’s show love & put humanity firs
#Intersex - What do you think about intersex people?