Special report: Intersex women speak out to protect the next generation

One in 2,000 babies does not fit neatly into male or female categories. Sarah Morrison meets four members of a new group that's campaigning  to change attitudes and to help others feel less alone

Sarah Morrison
Saturday 30 November 2013
      
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/special-report-intersex-women-speak-out-to-protect-the-next-generation-8974892.html

It has taken Holly Greenberry, Sarah Graham, Dawn Vago and Elizabeth Jo Roberts years to go public with their stories. Born into a world that insists on dividing people into two sexes, they did not always know how they fitted in. They were born to typical families in typical areas of Britain, but none of them developed into typical male or females. They are intersex.

An estimated one in 2,000 babies is born with an intersex condition or a (controversially named) disorder of sex development (DSD), which means that they are born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not fit the typical definitions of female or male. This can include atypical genitalia, chromosomes or internal sex organs.

The women argue that their very existence has been "eradicated" by British society. Generations of children have been operated upon to "normalise" their genitals or sexual anatomy, while official documentation, from birth certificates to passports, requires a male or female box to be ticked.  They argue it's one of the last "human rights taboos" in the western world.

I'm pleased with this. This needs to talked about. I've read some horror stories and the reasons given for surgery aren't valid.