27 January 2012, 2.22pm AEST
Orchids sheds light on the secrecy surrounding intersex
Author Sheila Jeffreys
http://theconversation.edu.au/orchids-sheds-light-on-the-secrecy-surrounding-intersex-5030 (http://theconversation.edu.au/orchids-sheds-light-on-the-secrecy-surrounding-intersex-5030)
The documentary, Orchids: my intersex adventure, aims to reduce the secrecy and shame in which intersex people have been forced to spend their lives. It relates the story of filmmaker, Phoebe Hart, who, along with her sister, Bonnie, has a genetic condition now referred to as AIS, or Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, which is a form of intersexuality. Previously, those with this condition were referred to as hermaphrodites.
The Hart sisters have male chromosomes and both had their undeveloped testes surgically removed at puberty. They appeared to be female at birth as a result of the male foetus not being susceptible to the hormone that would have caused masculinisation. So they were raised as girls.