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I’ve seen many people talking about hermaphrodites on Gaia as of late and the comments made make me shake my head in disbelief and feel even more ashamed of myself for not saying anything. The thing is the term hermaphrodite is in relation to a mythical being from Greek times, The child of Aphrodite. There are hermaphrodites in animals, mostly known as asexual creatures, but in humans we have been leaning away from the term because it leads people to believe it is a person with both working genitals when that is far from true. Nowadays the term Intersex has been used to incorporate all different forms of people that have a mix of both male and female in their bodies. This could be having one testicle and one ovary or something as simply as having too much testosterone and estrogen in their system, like myself.

I’ve never liked to talk about this personally because it is not who I truly am. I am female and a boi dyke. Anything else is between myself and my lovely wife, who accepts me whole heartedly. The reason I bring it up now is because I tire of the misconception of what an intersex is and people acting like it is so great. Being in the middle causes all kinds of medical and social problems. I’ve had people tell me to leave women’s groups because I don’t look female enough or people out right telling me I'm not a girl. It is not my fault I have small breast and did not get a figure until late in my life. It actually sickens me that people have such a general view of what is male and what is female. Being an intersex I have ended up with a different view of the world then others. I do not see the black and white of gender or sex as others do. I truly believe that there is a mix in us all, but people are too busy trying to divide everyone into gender categories that they don’t notice the grand spectrum of difference in people around them. Sure I only love girls, but I also realize that there are many forms of women. From boiish to femme to in-between. Sexuality is something entirely different because it has to do with attraction and not gender.

Anyways, This is why I have an understand of trans. I do believe that they are another form of intersex. It has been proven that trans actually have a female brain, the size and shape a slight different in males and females. This tells me that they are just one more form of intersex. That they are as much my sisters as all women.

Well that is enough ranting out of me. I thought I would clarify this for anyone wondering what Intersex are and our position on gender issues. If you wish to know more about intersex I’ve listed a few links for everyone.

INSA
Wikipedia - intersex
We are not what we seem - This link really helped me understand that there was nothing to be ashamed about being an intersex.

sweatdrop It may be true that some transvestites have a female/male brain, but I don't believe it to be a form of intersexuality. Ever heard of Eddie Izzard? He's incredibly manly despite the makeup and he likes women. Why does he crossdress? He wears whatever he wants, not because he feels like a woman.

I hope I'm not coming across as rude... I just disagree. sweatdrop

I do not consider tranvestites and crossdressers in my comments. Trans usually refers to transgender and transsexuals, whos bodies do not match their souls.

jaa ne

Kat

I know it's quite hard to learn it through living experience, but I think it's very positive to be able to get rid of prejudices and stereotypes about people but also about oneself. It took me a lot to know that, but once I've cleared up my mind, I've found an open window to see the world and myself with very different eyes, and I don't regret it in the least nor I'm ashamed at all. There's nothing to be ashamed at all.

People seem to love labels, they want to cathegorize everything, to be able to clasify everyone, and put you in your corresponding box. I don't belong to any damned box, whatever label you put me, it will be wrong. You want to clasify me? create a new cathegory for me. I'm seriously meaning it.

OK, I'm a girl, but that has nothing to do with anything, above all I'm a human being, and that is all. Gender is not bipolar, in fact it is not even linear. Gender is another invention for clasifying things, to force you into a box, like it or not. There's absolutely nothing I cannot do or think because of that, no hobbie or interest I might not have, or work I cannot do. I like a lot of boy's stuff, and also a lot of girl's stuff. I have part of a girl inside me, part of a boy, an also part of none. At some point in my life I hated the boyish part inside me, but it's so good that it's over. I try to get the best of both, no, not both, from all the multiple worlds around there and inside me, why limit myself to one? Who can decide that for me?

It's a pity that most of the people can't see all of this, but they're so concerned about being able to put themselves in one of those boxes, to be able to adjust themselves in the stereotype, that they won't see that their soul would be to big to fit in a box if they let them be themselves.

Right now, I don't know how, but I can't see boys nor girls around me, just persons. I cannot fit them in a gender box as much as I try, because for the moment I haven't been able to find neither a boy nor a girl that wholly fits in the stereotype in a natural way, without being forcing themselves to fit in. Conventional boys and girls fit in the stereotype only because they're imposing them artificial limits, not because the would naturally fit if they let themselves fully grow as a person.

Just for the record, even though I'm totally a girl now, I was born in the wrong body, in a boy's body. I've been through a lot of things that have made me think a lot about gender and about people, I was once between both worlds, not really belonging to any of them, so I know how it feels to be there, I know how it feels when you don't fit in people's expectations about your gender. I'm also a lesbian (or not, because as I said, I don't like labels).

I'm happy with myself now. Just be yourself.

=/ I feel so horrible that I didn't know any of this was even possible. But it's also kind of cool. =] I mean, come on, there are more then just two genders for humans!

Probably 90% of the kids in my school would insult someone if they found out they were male and female. It's quite sad, how close minded people are in this world. =/