Queer Intersects

autostraddle: Claudia Is Intersex, Let’s Talk About It Hey...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:58:57 -0500

Claudia Is Intersex, Let’s Talk About It

Hey there, Autostraddlers. I’m Claudia, and I’m intersex.

Hello!

I mean, I’m lots of things. For…

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Omg, you guys. Claudia is amazing.

I first contacted her in 2010 after reading her blog. Then, over a year later, I spoke with her at Intersex Awareness Day in 2011. Now she’s bringing the intersex message to Autostraddle. So inspiring.

Eden Atwood and Jim Bruce Interview

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 23:12:33 -0500

Eden Atwood and Jim Bruce Interview:

Amazing.

Beyond Coming Out: Politics of Queer Millenials (HuffPost Live)

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:04:43 -0500

Beyond Coming Out: Politics of Queer Millenials (HuffPost Live):

Extremely engaging segment with a lot of super-important questions being discussed.

feminaquotes: Feminism is not simply a struggle to end male...

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 22:35:03 -0500

feminaquotes:

Feminism is not simply a struggle to end male chauvinism, or a movement to ensure that women have equal rights with men; It is a commitment to eradicate the ideology of domination that permeates Western culture on various levels — Sex, Race, Class, to name a few — and a commitment to reorganizing US society so that the self-development of people can take precedence over imperialism, economic expansion, & material desires. ~ bell hooks

National Coming Out Day

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 19:56:00 -0400

I feel a particular tension on this day. It was actually on NCOD two years ago that I started telling people that I was gay. The only people who had known previously were those who knew about my entire situation, with liking girls as kind of an afterthought to everything else. As my facebook feed fills with various posts from my queer friends about the day - I am both tempted to post something of my own, and paralyzed with anxiety.

I honestly don’t care who knows that I date women, I actually wish everyone did (well perhaps everyone besides my Russian grandparents and the like). But the act of using a platform such as facebook to clarify that fact to the hundreds of people I’m ‘friends’ with who may not, is just a tad annoying.

And then, when it comes to Everything Else…well that’s where things get complicated. Because my identity is fucking complicated. Trying to explain that in a facebook post is not really something I wish to do.

I understand the value of coming out. It’s something that increases understanding and makes it okay for others to do the same. But at the same time, my identity is my own. The fact that straight/non-intersex people don’t have to come out is a privilege.

My life is my own, and I think keeping a part of that to myself is just fine.

Pop Theory: What’s (Legally) in a Choice?

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 14:29:08 -0400

Pop Theory: What’s (Legally) in a Choice?:

Excellent article, and commentary (including a discussion of intersex in relation to homosexuality). This Marcie does a fantastic job of articulating exactly how I feel with respect to the whole “Born This Way” phenomenon in the LGBTQ movement.

Inter/Act: AIC's Summer 2012 Newsletter - The Youth Edition!

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:47:18 -0400

Inter/Act: AIC's Summer 2012 Newsletter - The Youth Edition!:

Oh hayyy, that’s me :)

inter-actyouth:

Shana: What Inter/Act Means to Me

In November 2010, a friend of mine asked if I might be interested in getting involved with the development of a new project. It would be an online space designed specifically for young people with intersex conditions (DSD’s) to express themselves and…

Sex Verification: You Say You’re a Woman? That Should Be Enough

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 09:08:00 -0400

Sex Verification: You Say You’re a Woman? That Should Be Enough:

By Rebecca Jordan-Young and Katrina Karkazis (the latter of whom I met and whose work is truly inspiring)

Some other intersex stories

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 17:12:41 -0400

Some other intersex stories:

Just wanted to post this link if anyone is interested in seeing other intersex stories, from some people who are braver than I currently am, as far as putting themselves out there publicly and sharing the most vulnerable aspects of themselves with the world.

We Who Feel Differently

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:44:17 -0400

We Who Feel Differently:

Very sad I missed the May 4-5 symposium, but happy that the presentations were recorded and are available at this site. Tiger Devore’s talk “The Preservation of Difference” within the panel “Genderfull Lives, Genderfull Politics” speaks most directly to my personal story, but above all, it’s so great to see the inclusion of that section of experiences within larger conversations around gender, queerness and social justice.

Queering Prison Abolition, Now?

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:25:00 -0400

Queering Prison Abolition, Now?:

thespiritwas:

must read article by Captive Genders co-editor Eric A Stanley & Normal Life author Dean Spade!

Second Wave Interview Series, Vol. 2: Shana & Tony Briffa, Mayor of Hobsons Bay (Melbourne, Australia)

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:22:40 -0400

My interview with Mayor Tony Briffa.

inter-actyouth:

Inter/Act’s Second Wave Interview Series, Vol. 2: Shana in conversation with Tony Briffa, Mayor of Hobsons Bay (Melbourne, Australia).

Shana: You recently gained widespread notoriety for being the world’s first openly intersex mayor. What made you decide to first run for public office, and how did your intersex condition play a part in that decision? Did you expect that there would be as much international press about it as there has been? How has that experience been for you?

Mayor Briffa: I stood for public office because I know politics is a great way to make a difference and contribute to the community. I’ve always had an interest in history, politics and human rights, and being intersex - along with my experiences as a result of the clinical management of being intersex as a child - contributed to making me a strong advocate.

I didn’t expect the global media attention but I am glad my election as mayor has helped raise awareness of intersex issues. The experience has been humbling because I’ve received so much lovely emails of support from all over the world.

Shana: How do you experience your gender in relation to your intersex condition? Has this changed over your life? Do you ever get responses from the transgender community? …

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Shana: “You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” – C.S. Lewis

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:57:51 -0400

inter-actyouth:

I was born with what’s now called Partial Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (PAIS). That means that I, like women with CAIS (Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome), have XY chromosomes and was born with internal testes.

Unlike women with CAIS, however, people with PAIS are not generally born with genitals that look completely “female.” This is because the androgens (testosterone) that are produced in fetuses’ bodies, which do nothing in those with CAIS, do cause PAIS kids to virilize resulting in so-called “ambiguous” genitalia at birth.

When I was born, as it had been for several decades prior, the standard “treatment” for such cases was to operate, and “normalize” the genitalia’s appearance. Surgical techniques had certainly become more sophisticated as technologies improved, but the general idea was the same: This child’s body does not fit into the narrow classification boxes, this inescapable categorization that defines virtually everything about someone in our society. We must fix it …

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So this is me (now you guys know my first name). Hope this isn’t too much of a downer…

inter-actyouth: Inter/Act’s Second Wave Interview series, Vol....

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 02:52:22 -0500

inter-actyouth:

Inter/Act’s Second Wave Interview series, Vol. 1.

Pidgeon Pagonis in conversation with Mani Bruce Mitchell, intersex activism pioneer and founder of Intersex Awareness New Zealand (IANZ).

feathersandglowsticksptii: queerintersects: Soooo, every one of these except one includes Intersex...

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:20:09 -0500

feathersandglowsticksptii:

queerintersects:

Soooo, every one of these except one includes Intersex as an identity which fits under the Trans* umbrella.

This notion is problematic for a number of reasons…

…

what the fuck is up with these pictures. Jesus christ. I am so fucking sick of trans people doing this.

INTERSEX DOES NOT FIT UNDER THE TRANS UMBRELLA. Intersex people do not exist to justify trans people’s lives. Trans people just fucking stop this.

Here’s a more emphatic way of saying it… ;)

Soooo, every one of these except one includes Intersex as an...

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:31:00 -0500

Soooo, every one of these except one includes Intersex as an identity which fits under the Trans* umbrella.

This notion is problematic for a number of reasons, most notably because the majority of people born with intersex conditions do not identify as trans*, and are in fact perfectly content with the gender assigned to them at birth. A large proportion of these people actually identify as heterosexual, and may not necessarily identify with the Queer community or movement at all.

For a while, I wanted very much to be one of those people. I wanted to embody the heteronormative ideal of an AIS woman that I saw when I first attended an AIS conference, and that was ascribed to me when my parents first half-explained what was “wrong” with me (how I would be able to get married and adopt children with my husband and have a “normal” sex life - despite this unnamed problem that was just dropped on me like a bomb).

Of course, many Intersex folks do not fit this mold, in any number of ways. This includes those who are not satisfied with the gender to which they were assigned - either wholly or partially. However, the issues faced by such individuals are very different from those faced by your average trans man or woman. It also includes people like me, who don’t have an inherent problem with the gender to which they were assigned, but who identify as queer in some way.

Certainly, I think the heteronormative framework employed by some sects of the intersex movement, including the singular reliance on a medical model, has more than a tinge of transphobia to it. The transphobic panic I felt when I first found out the entire reality of what my condition actually was is something I cannot fully describe. However, thanks to the continued work of activists and a continuing conversation among people with intersex conditions, I believe that framework is beginning to change.

In terms of my own progression, I am no longer afraid or insulted at being included in such an umbrella. However, I know my lived experience is very different than that of most who fall under it, and so i respectfully don’t believe I should be included.

From the end of the queer movement, it seems that Intersex is often used as an example which serves to theoretically shatter the concept of the gender/sex binary, rather than a diverse set of lived experiences of real people who may simultaneously face any number of intersecting identities or struggles (including a trans identity). While I understand how this tendency is naturally tempting for those in the queer community or anyone thinking about gender as a social construct, in order to conceptualize intersex with respect to the presumed biological basis of the gender/sex binary, it is imperative that people get the full picture first.

“Love Story” Although I don’t agree one...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:07:42 -0500

“Love Story”

Although I don’t agree one huuuundred percent with everything in this video (mostly just that I wouldn’t really mind going to the parties of my friends), this is so funny and great. Shared by Dean Spade on his facebook page.

Why Are Doctors Still Performing Genital Surgery on Infants?

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:16:06 -0500

Why Are Doctors Still Performing Genital Surgery on Infants?:

I have no idea.

(Also, yay for the Inter/Act shoutout!)

"We were not born critical of existing society. There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a..."

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:09:40 -0500

“We were not born critical of existing society. There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a year) when certain facts appeared before us, startled us, and then caused us to question beliefs that were strongly fixed in our consciousness-embedded there by years of family prejudices, orthodox schooling, imbibing of newspapers, radio, and television. This would seem to lead to a simple conclusion: that we all have an enormous responsibility to bring to the attention of others information they do not have, which has the potential of causing them to rethink long-held ideas.”

- Howard Zinn

katalepsja: “Gender doesn’t make me who I am” - Andrej Pejic @...

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 02:15:42 -0500

katalepsja:

“Gender doesn’t make me who I am” - Andrej Pejic @ CityNews