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[Chantal]

Ten Misconceptions about Intersexuality
By Curtis E. Hinkle
Founder, Organisation Intersex International   

1.  Intersex means that a person has both sets of genitalia.

2.  1 in 2000 infants is born intersex.

3.  Intersex is about homosexuality.

4.  Intersex is not about gender.

5. Intersex is part of the transgender movement.

6. Only true hermaphrodites are real hermaphrodites.

7. Transsexualism is not an intersex condition.

8.  The intersex movement is an identity movement like other GLBT movements.

9.  Most intersex people were assigned female.

10. Intersexuality is a condition which can be cured.


For a detailed explanation of each misconception, click the link below:

http://www.intersexualite.org/Misconceptions.html

[Janet Lynn]

I read your post and the accompanying article.  And while I am not Intersex, it was a well "Duh" moment for me.  I may not know a lot about the condition, but they all seemed like lies and mistruths.


Janet

[Chantal]

I read your post and the accompanying article.  And while I am not Intersex, it was a well "Duh" moment for me.  I may not know a lot about the condition, but they all seemed like lies and mistruths.


Janet

You'd be surprised how many people believe they're "true".

[Alyssa M.]

Intriguing. However, while I wouldn't want to speak for intersexed people (construing transsexualism to be distinct), I think that most of those statements are far from cut-and-dry. In fact the only one that is obviously false is the first one. The rest are controversial, to say the least.

[Ladyrider]

Intriguing. However, while I wouldn't want to speak for intersexed people (construing transsexualism to be distinct), I think that most of those statements are far from cut-and-dry. In fact the only one that is obviously false is the first one. The rest are controversial, to say the least.

Errrrr not to those who are intersexed.

-={LR}=-

[Chantal]

while I wouldn't want to speak for intersexed people (construing transsexualism to be distinct).  I think that most of those statements are far from cut-and-dry. In fact the only one that is obviously false is the first one. The rest are controversial, to say the least.

However, you seem to be speaking for us anyhow.  You're entitled to your opinions of course, but I respectfully disagree. 

[Zelane]

3.  Intersex is about homosexuality.
Ridiculous!

4.  Intersex is not about gender.
An IS person can experiment gender in a confused way. Not only in some cases its the core/true gender being neglected (assigning a wrong sex) But it depends on the way your body develops which can bring some issues. Gender after all its whats inbetween your ears. Not your legs.

5. Intersex is part of the transgender movement.
I dont think so. But then again the Invisible I seems appear there.

6. Only true hermaphrodites are real hermaphrodites.
I hate that word.

10. Intersexuality is a condition which can be cured.
Only diseases can be cured, a condition gets treated and its just a fact but an IS person will always be IS. But if that person wants to seek some normalization go ahead.

[Alyssa M.]

Okay, looking back through, a few others are more obvious. But I'm not speaking for anyone at all. My reaction has to do with the contradictions within the article itself.

• Intersex means that a person has both sets of genitalia.
  As I said, this one seems pretty obvious.
• 1 in 2000 infants is born intersex.
  "There are so many different intersex conditions that it is very hard to give a statistic at this time." Okay, so 1 in 2000 isn't so much false as it is unsupported. Or, it's a minimum amount, based on an overly-strict definition: "It would be more accurate to state simply that in hospitals with gender assignment teams, 1 in 2000 infants is born with genitalia that are so atypical that the attending physician requests the help of the specialists in the team to assign a sex."
• Intersex is about homosexuality.
  "And most important of all, what is the opposite sex of an intersex person who clearly states they are intergender?" Well, it sure as heck sounds as though there are some deep implications regarding how people view homosexuality. So I guess it depends on what you mean by "about."
• Intersex is not about gender.
  Frankly this one seemed obvious. But I think there are some for whom it's really not about gender. See Zelane's post above. Also, it seems to me that the implications toward gender and sexuality (if not, specifically, homosexuality) are similar, so in a way, this contradicts the previous point.
• Intersex is part of the transgender movement.
  "To include intersex under the umbrella term ;transgender,' overlooks our specific needs ..." Well, Susan's community definitions specifically construe intersex under the transgender umbrella. I'm not saying it's right or wrong -- take it up with Susan. Also: "'trans,' just like the prefix 'bi' mentioned earlier, keeps the binary well intact." HUH!? There are at least a few people around here who don't like "trans" specifically because it's all about a spectrum!
• Only true hermaphrodites are real hermaphrodites.
  "This is as silly as ..." Okay, nothing to see here. This one seemed pretty clear too. But I have to agree with Zelane about that word. Moving right along ...
• Transsexualism is not an intersex condition.
  "We don’t know." I don't claim to know either. But there are definitely people who would insist that this conception is true and others who would claim it's false. I.e. ... it's controversial.
• The intersex movement is an identity movement like other GLBT movements.
  There are plenty of people within the LGBT community who aren't interested in any particular identity politics either. So this statement is fawed from the get-go. So I guess that the statement is false on that basis. But the author doesn't seem to notice that. But I have seen similar statements within pretty much every movement, and there's almost always a divide between people who value a particular group identity and those who malign identity politics. So I worry that this is an oversimplification. That's not speaking for intersexed people -- rather, it's not assuming that one person within the intersex community speaks for the whole group.
• Most intersex people were assigned female.
  "From personal experience, I have not found this to be the case." Okay ... well this one is either true or false, since it's a simple statistical statement. Maybe the author is correct, but the article does practically nothing to convince me of that.
• Intersexuality is a condition which can be cured.
  "Mutilating our bodies is not a cure." Okay, I see the point. But the saying that "being intersexed has no cure" seems like a too broad statement, even if it's converse is also too broad. Certainly there are some transsexual people who think (like, perhaps, the author) that transsexualism is an intersex condition, and furthermore, that it has a cure.[/i]
  

Basically, most of these alleged misconceptions are problematic because they are overly broad, but the article seems to contradict them in a similarly overbroad way, at times being self-contradictory. So no, I'm not speaking for intersexed people. I'm just pointing out that the statements in this article don't necessarily hold water.

Maybe I'm just not the target audience. Perhaps from the point of view of someone who would actually buy into the misconception,  as plain fact, I'm splitting hairs.

[Ladyrider]

Okay, looking back through, a few others are more obvious. But I'm not speaking for anyone at all. My reaction has to do with the contradictions within the article itself.

• Intersex means that a person has both sets of genitalia.
  As I said, this one seems pretty obvious.
• 1 in 2000 infants is born intersex.
  "There are so many different intersex conditions that it is very hard to give a statistic at this time." Okay, so 1 in 2000 isn't so much false as it is unsupported. Or, it's a minimum amount, based on an overly-strict definition: "It would be more accurate to state simply that in hospitals with gender assignment teams, 1 in 2000 infants is born with genitalia that are so atypical that the attending physician requests the help of the specialists in the team to assign a sex."
• Intersex is about homosexuality.
  "And most important of all, what is the opposite sex of an intersex person who clearly states they are intergender?" Well, it sure as heck sounds as though there are some deep implications regarding how people view homosexuality. So I guess it depends on what you mean by "about."
• Intersex is not about gender.
  Frankly this one seemed obvious. But I think there are some for whom it's really not about gender. See Zelane's post above. Also, it seems to me that the implications toward gender and sexuality (if not, specifically, homosexuality) are similar, so in a way, this contradicts the previous point.
• Intersex is part of the transgender movement.
  "To include intersex under the umbrella term ;transgender,' overlooks our specific needs ..." Well, Susan's community definitions specifically construe intersex under the transgender umbrella. I'm not saying it's right or wrong -- take it up with Susan. Also: "'trans,' just like the prefix 'bi' mentioned earlier, keeps the binary well intact." HUH!? There are at least a few people around here who don't like "trans" specifically because it's all about a spectrum!
• Only true hermaphrodites are real hermaphrodites.
  "This is as silly as ..." Okay, nothing to see here. This one seemed pretty clear too. But I have to agree with Zelane about that word. Moving right along ...
• Transsexualism is not an intersex condition.
  "We don’t know." I don't claim to know either. But there are definitely people who would insist that this conception is true and others who would claim it's false. I.e. ... it's controversial.
• The intersex movement is an identity movement like other GLBT movements.
  There are plenty of people within the LGBT community who aren't interested in any particular identity politics either. So this statement is fawed from the get-go. So I guess that the statement is false on that basis. But the author doesn't seem to notice that. But I have seen similar statements within pretty much every movement, and there's almost always a divide between people who value a particular group identity and those who malign identity politics. So I worry that this is an oversimplification. That's not speaking for intersexed people -- rather, it's not assuming that one person within the intersex community speaks for the whole group.
• Most intersex people were assigned female.
  "From personal experience, I have not found this to be the case." Okay ... well this one is either true or false, since it's a simple statistical statement. Maybe the author is correct, but the article does practically nothing to convince me of that.
• Intersexuality is a condition which can be cured.
  "Mutilating our bodies is not a cure." Okay, I see the point. But the saying that "being intersexed has no cure" seems like a too broad statement, even if it's converse is also too broad. Certainly there are some transsexual people who think (like, perhaps, the author) that transsexualism is an intersex condition, and furthermore, that it has a cure.[/i]
  

Basically, most of these alleged misconceptions are problematic because they are overly broad, but the article seems to contradict them in a similarly overbroad way, at times being self-contradictory. So no, I'm not speaking for intersexed people. I'm just pointing out that the statements in this article don't necessarily hold water.

Maybe I'm just not the target audience. Perhaps from the point of view of someone who would actually buy into the misconception,  as plain fact, I'm splitting hairs.

Check out the links to the various Intersex Societies contained in this thread:

http://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,65933.0.html

It may help.

-={LR}=-

[Alyssa M.]

I actually saw that thread, and checked out some of the links, but not in much detail.

You're right, they might well be useful. I found the discussion illuminating, and thank you for reminding me.

I just didn't find that this particular article helped much.