Intersex pride.
Of all the letters in LGBTQI, I think Intersex people are unique in that we often get added to the rainbow by society as soon as we are born, and unlike other queer people, our families often "know" about us long before we do.
There is a conspiracy of silence to stop intersex kids from knowing about themselves. The reason "normalizing" surgery is done early in life is precisely because the event will not be remembered. In my case, my earliest memory is recovering from such surgery. It took decades to understand what that fragmentary memory was.
Unlike the other letters of LGBTQI, intersex conditions often come with significant medical concerns. Amongst other issues, I had an endocrine crisis leading to severe arthritis in my early years. But my doctors were so intent on bolstering my normalized identity, they could not acknowledge or treat the problem. Ultimately, I accidentally fixed myself by starting hormone therapy as part of gender affirming care.
The origin of this medical and social control is the 1950s era anxiety that if the child has an "abnormal" body, they will grow up gay. As bizarre as it may seem, the pathologization of intersex and the resulting nonconsensual and deceptive treatments are a form of "queer prevention" therapy.
Intersex pride is about acknowledging that bodily diversity is the real normal. Intersex pride is about demanding treatment for the real health issues and an end for nonconsensual cosmetic treatments. Intersex pride is about resisting the identity policing and secrecy that society deems "good for us".
#pride #intersex
