Neither male nor female: The secret life of intersex people

[Shana A]

Neither male nor female: The secret life of intersex people
April 30, 2010

Francine Kopun
FEATURE WRITER

http://www.healthzone.ca/health/newsfeatures/article/802339--neither-male-nor-female-the-secret-life-of-intersex-people

Sydney was a cataloguer. For years she worked in a Toronto government library, studying books so she could classify them, fitting them into just the right spot on the shelves. She wished her own life was as neat.

Sydney was 23 years old, an Alabama girl preparing to marry, when she got a call from her doctor telling her she had a cancerous condition that required immediate surgery. Cancer in those days was akin to a death sentence. She hurried to comply.

The hospital agreed to pay for everything if she would agree to be examined by doctors and medical students. She was poor. She said yes. They told her she needed a complete hysterectomy. She believed them.