#End Intersex Surgery Now

[mxanunnakiraymarquez]

Some People in Power and Control Will Not Stop Regulating Our Intersex Lives as Nonconsenting Children.

My educational thoughts for the day: We have all been taught by colonialism, and people in power and control, to pathologize human diversity. This language mostly comes from people of power who are white, endosex, cisgender, heterosexual men. To this day, people in power and control invent what is “normal” and have judged, pathologized, and diagnosed human diversity. They invented racism, the…

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#Colonialism #Cosmetic Genital Surgery #Cultural Dysphoria #End Cultural Dysphoria #End Intersex Surgery Now #Government #Government Officials #Human Rights #Intersex #Intersex Awareness #Language Matters #Prejudice #Self-Determination #Stop IGM

[theforesteldritch]

Reading about how intersex athletes have been treated is so fucking horrible. The countless lies and human rights violations. The discrimination and how it's ruined the lives of so many people is so awful. There has been no apologies from any athletics comptetions or organizations. They have blood on their hands. Just a tw for intersexism and mental health issues and suicide in the next paragraph because it can get pretty heavy.

Annet Negesa, who was a middle distance runner. She was suddenly barred from competing due to her hormones. No one told her why. She was then told she needed to take medication to lower her testosterone, then what she was told was switched. She was lied to about a surgery that she was told was like an injection and would let her compete again. She woke up with scars and had had a gonadectomy. That violation of basic human rights and medical ethics combined with inadequate postsurgical care basically ended her career. She deserves justice. She deserves apologies from the Olympics and everyone single doctor who was involved in it, and compensation and the promise that it should never have happened and will never happen again. She. Needs. Justice.

Pratima Gaonkar needs justice. She was a rising track and field star. After forced sex verificatiom she killed herself. The way media and news treated her after her death was disgusting. She deserves and needs justice. Her family deserves justice.

Santhi Soundarajan had her medals stripped and was treated as an outcast after forced sex verification showed she had androgen insensitivity syndrome. She was treated as an outcast, her gender was mocked. She's spoken out about how much discrimination she's faced, and how badly she's been treated. She now works as a coach, but was barred from competing. She deserves justice.

Caster Semenya deserves justice. Francine Niyonsaba deserves justice. Margaret Wambui deserves justice. Barbra Banda deserves justice. Beatrice Masilingi and Christine Mboma deserve justice.

The racism and intersexism and horrible human rights violations and medical abuse these women have faced for the supposed crime of being intersex and good at a sport is horrible. They deserve justice, but the organizations that perpetuate these atrocities don't seem to care. It's so fucking horrible.

#intersex #intersexism #lgbtq

[queerandherewithgoodnews]

Happy Intersex Awareness Day!

Today, the 26th of October, is Intersex awareness day. Celebrate all the intersex peeps and raise attention to the struggles they face!

End intersex genital surgery and other forced invasive measures now!

#cyana celebrates queer periods #intersex awareness day #lgbt #lgbtq+ #lgbtqia+ #queer #intersex

[intersex-support]

hello! i newly figured out i am intersex, however i haven't been able to find much content talking about intersex experience, history or community, when i first realized i was queer originally i found a lot of content like that and found it helpful, and i was wondering if there's any recommendations you might be willing to give about any content on being intersex or intersex creators who you think people should know about!

Hey!

This ask honestly made me really happy, because when I was searching for people and resources to share with you, I realized how much stuff has been created in the past 5 years. When I was diagnosed as intersex, I felt like there was so much less stuff than there even is now, so it makes me really happy to know there is more stuff, even if it's still hard to find.

Some of the things I've put on this list are outdated or might include perspectives that I don't completely love, but might include important historical context. It is also a very US centric and English language centric resource, although I have linked to organizations in other countries and would love if people added on recommendations to intersex resources in a variety of languages. As always, take what resonates with you and leave behind the rest!

Books:

Cripping Intersex by Celeste E Orr

Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex by Elizabeth Reis

XOXY: A Memoir by Kimberly Zieselman

Intersex (For Lack of a Better Word) by Thea Hillman

In September, Alicia Weigel is releasing her memoir Inverse Cowgirl.

In August, Pidgeon Pagonis is releasing their memoir, Nobody Needs to Know.

Fiction books:

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Intersex #ownvoices books, collated by Bogi Takács

Films:

Every Body directed by Julie Cohen is in theaters right now, and will eventually be on streaming services.

Ponyboi directed by River Gallo

Intersexion directed by Grant Lahood

Articles + misc:

Hermaphrodites with Attitude newsletter-content note for h slur and some other outdated language. Very important history though <3

Jazz Legend Little Jimmy Scott Is a Cornerstone of Black Intersex History by Sean Saifa Wall

What it's like to be a Black intersex woman by Tatenda Ngwaru

9 Young People on How They Found Out They Are Intersex by Hans Lindhal

Teen Vogue's series of intersex interviews

After years of protest, a top hospital ended intersex surgeries. For activists, it took a deep toll by Kate Sosin

Intersex Awareness Day: A Demonstration that Inspired a Movement

Normalizing intersex: Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics

Music-Ana Roxanne

Youth&I-intersex youth zine

Juliana Huxtable-Visual Art

Youtube channels:

Emilord-videos about AIS and surgery.

Jubilee Intersex video

Hans Lindhal-videos on a wide variety of intersex topics.

What's It Like To Be Intersex? | Minutes With | UNILAD

What It's Like To Be Intersex As/Is

Pass the Mic: Intercepting Injustice with Sean Saifa Wall

Intersex Organizations:

Link to org list

People/orgs to follow:

Sean Saifa Wall

Alicia Weigel

River Gallo

Hans Lindhal

Fàájì/funk

Jahni

Justin Tsang

Intersex Awareness (fabulous direct action organizing in the US-keep an eye out cause we're gonna do more this year!)

Liat Feller

Jubilee

Crystal Hendricks

Mari Wrobi

Intersex people, please feel free to add on more resources, art, writing, and people that you like!!

#actuallyintersex #intersex #intersex resources #intersex positivity #intersex history #intersex books

[cnjosephs]

POLARIS TRANS*

A poem for Pride. Continued under the read more.

As I grew from a little girl to a teenage boy, They said I should call myself trans*, with a star at the end: A star for something unfinished; a star for possibility.

As I grew from a teenage boy to a femme young adult, They said I should call myself trans, with no star at the end: That the star’s sharp points only served to cut and divide.

As I grew from a femme to a gloriously butch dykefag, I thought again about the star of my youth And about all the things it can stand for:

Trans* is for transgender— It’s for language that grows and shifts Like a living being; like a tree; like a child; For Sylvia’s Transgender Action Revolutionaries And for the kids at their high school GSA Walking into the club with their hearts in their hands.

Trans* is for transgressive— It’s for shattering expectations Shattering societies, boundaries, and binaries Like panes of fractured glass; The glass was breaking already, you know, But now we can turn it into a mosaic.

Trans* is for transsexual— It’s for those who pick up an old word That they’ve been told is “outdated” And brush the scorn off of it Like dust off of fine China To display it with pride on the shelf.

Trans* is for transformation— It’s for the little girls who became men, For the little boys who became women, For everyone who became everything, For everyone who became nothing, For everyone who became.

Trans* is for transvestite— It’s for shedding the skin you were forced into Like a snake shedding too-tight scales And growing something that fits you better; Making something new and beautiful, Wearing something beautiful and yours.

Trans* is for transitory— It’s for those of us whose gender shifts Like the phases of the moon; For people who fall asleep a femme fag And wake up a butch dyke And repeat the process again in a week.

Trans* is for tranny— It’s for picking up the stick they beat you with And sharpening it to a spear; Holding it up to defend yourself, To defend your kin, and saying: “You really wanna mess with us?”

Trans* is for those who reject the New Queer Binary— Who answer “Are you transfem or transmasc?” With an annoyed “Neither, actually”; Whose gender is not silence, but absence of noise; For men who are also women, For lesbians who are also gay men; For people so outside the binary That “nonbinary” feels like a chain around their throat; Maybe you can’t be cis and trans But I know you can be cis and trans*, And I know that you can’t draw a line between genders Like the respectable queers pretend you can.

Trans* is for all of us— For boydykes and girlfags, For queens and kings and crossdressers, For masculine women and feminine men, For my oft-excluded intersex darlings; For FTMs who wear suits and MTFs who wear gowns, For MTFs who wear suits and FTMs who wear gowns; For those on hormones and those who eschew them, For those who change their name and those who don’t; For those who want surgery to get a penis or a vagina, And those who want surgery to get both, And those who want surgery to have nothing.

Trans* is for everyone who marked the path we walk on now— It’s for Lili and Dr. Barry, For Roberta and Christine, For Marsha and Sylvia, For Stormé and Miss Major, For Leslie and Lou; And for so many others whose names we do not know Because they were blessed with the safety of privacy Or cursed with the violence of erasure.

If you asked me to name trans-with-a-star I’d tell you to call them Polaris Trans* The gender-variant community’s guiding light.

Trans* tells us where to go— To follow the paths cut by our predecessors, While keeping their drive to explore untrodden ground. To offer our hands for each other: Both to raise each other up when we fall And to fight when we’re under attack.

Trans* tells us who we are— We are faggots and dykes and sissies and queens, We are a bunch of rowdy queers who won’t shut up; We are armed with bottles and glasses, With bats and pens, with guns and paint; We are the people who have only survived Because when nobody would take care of us, When respectable queers treated us like a stain on their flag, We took care of each other.

Trans* tells us who to be— It tells us that we must be so brave and so strong, And so scared and so soft. That we must save our anger for those who hurt us, And not turn it on each other. That we must hold each other accountable for harm, But understand we are all flawed humans, And that mistakes are not unforgivable. That we must not hurt our trans* siblings For daring to be trans* in a way we cannot understand, And that you don’t need to know exactly what stars are made of To love how they shine in the sky.

Historical Notes

The figures referred to in the thirteenth stanza are, in order: Lili Elbe, Dr. James Barry, Roberta Cowell, Christine Jorgensen, Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Stormé DeLarverie, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Leslie Feinberg, and Lou Sullivan.

Sylvia Rivera is the same Sylvia mentioned in stanza four. In the 1970s, Sylvia and Marsha founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries together. They provided housing and care for homeless gay and trans* youth while working towards broader goals of achieving trans* liberation. Sylvia and Marsha kept their kids fed and housed through funds they raised via sex work. 

Sylvia would later say that the death of STAR came at the 1973 Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade, where trans* activists were told they couldn’t speak on stage. Sylvia and drag queen Lee Brewster physically fought their way to the stage and criticized the gay community for abandoning the trans* community after the trans* community had spent years fighting for rights for all of them. Lesbian activist Jean O’Leary verbally attacked them both, claiming that drag was “misogynistic” and “demeaning”, and that trans* people had no place in the gay rights movement. Receiving such a devastating rejection from people Sylvia had considered friends pushed her out of working in activism for many years. 

Marsha was tragically murdered in 1992 at the age of 47. Eight years later, in response to the murder of trans woman Amanda Milan, Sylvia resurrected STAR as the Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries. While Marsha and Sylvia were both integral to the initial work of STAR, I refer to it as “Sylvia’s” in the fourth stanza to make it clear I’m referring specifically to the later incarnation, which used “transgender” in their name. You can read more about Sylvia’s life in her essay “Queens in Exile, the Forgotten Ones”, written just before her fiftieth birthday in 2001. The closing paragraphs of the essay are, in my mind, both a profoundly valiant rallying cry and an agonizing indictment of our community’s failures:

Before I die, I will see our community given the respect we deserve. I'll be damned if I'm going to my grave without having the respect this community deserves. I want to go to wherever I go with that in my soul and peacefully say I've finally overcome. Editor's Note: Sylvia died on February 19, 2002, from complications of liver cancer. She was 50 years old. 

#transunity #transgender #ftm #mtf #trans* #transsexual #pride #poetry #queer #trans unity #pride month #cn writes

[yourpreciousrose]

Intersex day of awareness

I am a victim of intersex gen¡tal mutil@tion just like so many others around the world. I had surgery I didn't need as a baby without my consent and I now have lifelong issues and trauma because of it. We need to put an end to these surgeries that are often not needed. Most places are more worried about banning consented surgeries for trans people than banning things that actually should be banned. Please listen to our voices and stories, we deserve to have our bodies left alone.

*please do not share this on other platforms without my permission*

if you'd like to show support I do sell pins/stickers also custom art, money goes to help pay for healing needs/therapy/top surgery etc

#intersex #intersex rights #intersex awareness #lgbtqia #non binary #lgbtq community #queer #queer community #lgbtq #intersex awareness day #intersex pride #intersex artist

[trans-axolotl]

hi! feel free not to answer but i just wanted some insight from another trans intersex & disabled person (as i don't know any other than myself). i haven't really wanted to go on hrt because of hormones being pushed to "fix" my intersex variation and just not really *needing* it. however, i do want top surgery (for trans and chronic chest pain reasons) -- but im wondering if i just need to accept it as part of being intersex...? sounds silly now that i write it out but i hope this makes sense!

Hey! Not completely sure if I've understood your question completely correctly, but I always support intersex people making whatever choices are right for us. I know how frustrating and honestly violating it can feel to have hormones pushed to "fix" us, and the way it makes me feel so dehumanized, tbh. You always have the right to refuse hormones, and to make your own decision about what transition looks like for you. I got top surgery and loved it, but ended up going off testosterone because of trauma from being forced on estrogen as teen (might go back on T in the future, but idk). It's so complicated and I think we're allowed to feel whatever ways we want about it! There's no rules about being intersex or trans and honestly I think that one of the most important things that intersex people are fighting for is the right to make our own autonomous decisions without pressure from doctors, society, etc.

sending all the trans intersex disabled solidarity!!! i always love meeting more trans intersex disabled people :) we're the best

#asks #actuallyintersex #do whatever you want forever!

[vegetabletaxi]

headcanons about harry anderson no one cares about but like 5 people and i

i need to stress he is in my brain daily and i need to get some thoughts out please talk to me about harry anderson egbert guys please /silly

⭐🧵headcanons under the cut 🧵⭐

🧵 it's stated in "the insiders" that he has stage fright, but we are not given an explanation as to where it came from.

i like to imagine it's because he grew up with so many successful people in his family circle. not just because they are gods - but because they have talents that they are incredibly successful at. he's not as funny as his father, he's not as smart as his mother, he's not as savvy as rose, etc etc- and yet, he was brought into the spotlight from an early age nonetheless, having mentioned being in magazines and such. but he never talked, or said a word. meaning, he hasn't shown the world his potential at all yet... and he's terrified of doing so and disappointing them. his family, his friends, even strangers. it's a lot of pressure. and the more he lets it fester, the worse it gets.

🧵 he's in the theatre club but he's never properly acted/sang in front of anyone or participated in a play.

he's only been responsible for costumes. he really wants to participate - he rehearses for months on end before auditions - only to chicken out last minute.

🧵 he loves making other people shine more than shining himself.

we know he makes clothes. clothes are an art of self expression - and he loves dressing other people up so they can show their true potential. plus...it distracts him from his own failures.

🧵 he makes clothes for people that really need it, does a lot of charity work. the homeless, orphans, other school's plays, small local movies, etc.

he just loves to help out. he is genuinely a friendly person that cares and likes to keep himself busy.

🧵 ...and he also does make up!

this falls into the same category as the clothes thing, i think. he has a vanity table in his room. it's not hard to imagine him helping out with that too whenever he can.

🧵 he has officially been excused from holding presentations at school, much to his peer's dismay.

roxy knows his glossophobia (stage fright) is pretty damn bad, so she asked the school not to have him participate in things like that. people in turn think that he gets special treatment because of his god mom. overall he's not disliked though. i just think most people don't really know him, and tend to think of him as somewhat of a snob, if a friendly one. however his grades are only painfully average, partly because of this.

🧵 his relationship with his mom isn't perfect

now don't get me wrong, roxy is great, and they love each other very much. but i do think she has trouble talking about problems, and difficult things in general, and tends to keep things on the lighthearted side, which makes it hard to communicate issues with her. harry anderson would rather pretend he's got everything under control than bother his mom with 'frivilous problems'. ...one of such being kind of uncomfortable with aunt jane when he gets older. plus, he really doesn't want to disappoint her. he feels like he already is.

🧵a master of imitation

he can imitate any voice he wants to with perfect precision, including his mom's. makes calls to the house from school a lot easier. though she's pretty sneaky and finds out about this eventually lol

🧵 probably kins rarity from my little pony /lhj

🧵 he has the last name 'egbert', despite lalonde sounding better, to keep john's father's name alive.

🧵 unlabeled

he is very well versed in lgbt topics, as roxy made sure to teach him, but he doesn't really care to think about himself that way

🧵 born intersex but they really stuck with the name harry anderson so they just assigned him male at birth

told him he's free to choose when he's older of course and roxy refused to do any surgery on him. he just kept going with it though. for one he doesn't truly care about gender but also it's the name his dad wanted him to have, and he misses him a lot.

🧵 he gets along well with kanaya

clothes making go brrr :)

🧵 john does visit for some holidays, which he's happy about. but the day after that, he finds himself extremely sad he's gone again. he never calls back.

i love john but he absolutely is stuck in his own little "theyre fake anyway" narrative. also he's depressed as shit L bozo. this leaves harry anderson with the irrational fear that if only he had been better, he would've stayed "this time".

🧵 played a ton of retro games, and watched a lot of retro movies as a kid, because of roxy and john's influence

he tries talking about it with others but they have no idea what the fuck he's talking about ever

🧵 sometimes roxy is too lazy to do her make up so she lets harry anderson do it in the mornings

just thought that was a cute little domestic thing they do

🧵when john finally comes out as june, he helps her pass better

seeing as harry is so good at voice imitation he can help her voice train, and of course would be more than happy to make clothes that flatter her figure. finally someone will indulge him in dress up :)

anyway that's it for now byeeee

#sorry if some of these have been confirmed but i forgot #homestuck^2 #homestuck epilogues #harry anderson egbert #john egbert #june egbert #roxy lalonde #txt #homestuck

[aemiron-main]

Henward, Vaginal Imagery, Brenner's Surgeries and Tearing

Okay so, regarding James’ post here, I just realized something. Look at the scene where El sends Henward to superhell:

She literally tears right through him from the bottom/center up. And in his wake is the vaginal imagery that we see with the gates all the time, and that even the GA has picked up on. She basically tore a vagina through him. And right before this, we got the scenes of El’s birth that don’t align with other scenes of her birth.

And when that birth scene plays, look at what we get- that looks VERY similar to the gash/vaginal imagery associated with Henward and gates:

I think Henward absolutely got Eddie Glunskin’d and did not have a choice in the matter. Rather than transfem vibes, I’m totally getting “gender weirdness/cis guy who was forcibly operated on/guy who doesnt have a dick now” vibes. The vaginal imagery, especially with Henward, is always tied to force and pain and a lack of consent, and not to a longing to swap genders.

And this is also supported by the other gate/vaginal imagery scenes- when gates are opened, always by force. It’s always tearing/ripping/destruction. Look at the scenes from the end of S1 and beginning of S2:

The demogorgon rips through the wall and creates a tear via force. El widens the tear via force and then rips her way through it.

And look at the S3 gate opening- again, it’s by force. Force from Russian lab equipment- lab equipment creating a tear like that…

And look at the mothergate opening/mothergatae in general- again, it's torn open by force, and it happens in the lab:

And it parallels Henward being sent to the yellow UD- it's a gate opened by El, in the lab, and the cracks in the wall parallel eachother too, in addition to the gates paralleling of course:

So, we've got imagery associated with motherhood/mothergate that's tied/paralleled to Henward's body being torn through in the lab, where surgeries on Henward would have occurred.

And the mothergate gets this phallic imagery with the shadow coming out of it too- it’s definitely giving intersex vibes (and staring at the phallic imagery being forced back in and vaginoplasty surgeries and things being turned inside out/put in):

And look at Jason’s death- a guy, who is REPEATEDLY paralleled to Henward, is yet again ripped in half by vaginal imagery:

Jason’s death also occurred in the attic of the Creel house- the one place that represents Henward the most is being torn in half by vaginal imagery. And look at what exact part of the attic the gate starts tearing at- the part exactly where Henward was:

(these two shots are one after another as the camera pans down, just showing that the tear does open in that EXACT spot where vecna was):

And going back to Jason, Jason’s arms are also pinned down in a way that’s eerily similar to a.) Henward when being sent to superhell/being torn through, b.) Will during his S2 cabin “exorcism” and c.) the demodog that’s strapped to the table in the Russian lab, which parallels Henward, which I talked about here.

And that gash on the strapped down demodog is a very similar shape to the gash that rips through Henward (staring at Henward strapped down to an operating table much like the demodog):

And not only does it tear through the attic, but it also tears through Eddie’s house- Eddie, who serves to deliver subtext about Edward Creel. Edward Creel, who very much seems to have been operated on by Brenner:

Hell, look at the ST pilot and “the tear”- again, we get that ripping and tearing imagery:

And I have to say it- the spirals in Vecna’s mind lair?

Phallic shaped. His mind lair is full of his broken home and phallic imagery. Full of things he lost.

And we also don't know what Henward's sad but also angry memory is- but we DO know that both times it's brought up (when he first mentions it to her when playing plinko and when El remembers that scene when fighting him), it's tied to the concept of El's mother and to birth imagery. I'm wondering if Henward's sad but also angry memory is tied to castration/forced surgery and thereby later tied to the mother imagery/El's birth.

TLDR: my current verdict is Henward/Vecna being a guy in terms of gender/a cis gay guy prior to the lab and is still a gay guy but technically intersex by force as a result of Brenner & has somewhat embraced it (“i’m so glad you were born”)/is using it as part of his weird UD stuff..

#stranger things #henward mother weirdness #edward creel #mothergate

[mxanunnakiraymarquez]

#intersex awareness #circumcision #my body my life #government #medicalcomplex #my body my rights #cosmetic genital surgery #end intersex surgery now #end intersex surgery #unnecessary surgery #money making #profit #stop genocide #prejudice #we are human

[redditreceipts]

Sorry, but it's biologically incorrect to say that a Mtf who has undergone a "complete" transition is still a male, it's a misidentification of their current sexed state. The person no longer has a male reproductive system etc ( so no longer has a body organized around sperm production) and is therefore not a male, however that doesn't men they've become female and it doesn't change the fact that they are a *natal* male. Their sexed state is a kind of medically-induced intersexuality. Claiming that Mtfs are still males because they were born as such is like claiming that adults are still a babies because they were born as such.

They are still members of the male sex class and benefit from this sex class membership because our sex-gender system is organized around birth sex, not current sex. If tomorrow it were biologically possible to become the opposite sex, mtfs would retain their birth sex privilege and sex class membership, even though they would also be targeted for their current sex. Idk i think.. they would occupy a specific gendered position in the sex hierarchy informed both by their natal and current sex, were birth sex would be imo, more influent as it decides their sex class membership.

This is how I always understood stuff (not a biologist though, so please correct me):

I think that biological sex is determined by phenotype. Your phenotype is how your genetics interact with your environment. For example, you might have a genetic height range from 1,50m (if you eat very badly in your childhood) to 1,65 (if you eat very well in your childhood). If you have a mediocre diet in your childhood, so you are 1,60 m when you're grown. 1,60 m is now your phenotype. If you have a surgery where you break your legs and then get height added, maybe you can reach 1,70 m. This, however, does not affect your phenotype, because this surgery did not affect your genetics. Your phenotypical height (genetics x environment) is still 1,60 m.

But I guess that you can say that biological sex is determined by hormone state of the body or physical appearance? That would also make sense, and I really like your analysis of birth sex! I hadn't thought of it that way, and if you bring birth sex into the equation, it doesn't matter that much what someone's biological sex is.

And one thing at the end - these people are not intersex and there have been intersex people either telling me directly or saying generally that they don't want to be compared to transgender people. In the end, intersex people have a myriad of things they still have to fight for, and being intersex is a very specific situation, so I would not compare it to people who voluntarily take hormones to alter their body. I wish I could explain exactly why this comparison is not accurate, but for the moment, I dont know too much about biology and I think that we should just rely on and listen to intersex people on this one.

[blubushie]

EVERY SCAR YOU HAVE, BUSH MAN! AND HOW YOU GOT THEM! PRONTO!

Ok firstly "bush man" reads so much different than "bushman" for some reason that's weird

Anyway! We'll do this top-down

Right side of forehead, just beyond hairline. Got this wrecking an old paddock basher of a '79 Mustang on a mate's property when I was 15. My face hit the steering wheel. And the car caught on fire! So now I'm afraid of fire.

Horizontal scar on eyelid just under left eyebrow. I was 3 years old, jumping on the couch, and slammed face first into the coffee table.

Cut on left side of neck, just under jaw. Had a knife held to my neck. It was pulled away too fast.

Cut on right outer forearm. Blocked a knife. It's barely noticeable now since my arm hair camouflages the scar. Much more obvious when my arm is shaved.

Right inner wrist, oval scar I got while trying to get out of handcuffs as a teen cuz they forgot where I was in mental hospital so I was left unsupervised too long.

Right thumb on the knuckle. Scraped it learning to ride a bike.

Left bicep and left forearm. Bites from juvenile crocodiles during a croc survey in the Top End.

Left middle finger, 2cm vertical line stretching up from nail. Jammed finger in door of Matilda & the skin flayed off when I yanked it on reflex.

Numerous bite marks from different animals on my arms and hands. Scratches too. It's too many to keep track of.

Scarification on right breast from Indigenous initiation ceremony.

T-anchor double mastectomy scars.

Right side at waistline to almost centre of stomach is a long slash. Was disembowelled by a pig and almost died.

Barely-noticeable scar just under shoulder blades to right of spine from where the porcelain of my body armour cut my back after I was shot the first time.

Tacklebox is fucked, I'd rather not go into detail about those. I am intersex so the whole area has quite a bit of scarring from alterative + reconstructive surgeries.

Large rectangular scar on right thigh. This was a debrided burn wound I got from falling into a fire while drunk. My jeans melted into my leg and I refuse to wear synthetic fabric now.

Small patch on my right arse cheek where a skin graft was taken for the burn wound on my leg. Only one particularly deep spot needed a graft.

Miscellaneous scrapes and scratches on my legs from years of a rough and tumble childhood in the outback.

Left foot, raised scar over Achilles' tendon. Got razorwire in my shoe, cut me and the wound got infected. This was cleaned by maggots after a debridement.

Right foot, U-shaped scar on underside of big toe at the joint. Stepped on broken porcelain as a kid. Didn't need stitches luckily.

NOT A SCAR: knot on 8th right rib. Was jumped by 3 blokes for being MLM and beaten. One of them kicked me in the ribs and fractured it.

NOT A SCAR: permanent callous at shoulder pocket where my rifle rests when shouldered from shooting so many years professionally.

#blu whos

[strawbn1ng]

Okay, so I just saw something that made me frustrated and even kinda mad. It's about lesbians, trans and stuff. I'm gonna give a little 'speech' abt this, maybe more abt the trans stuff.

So, here's my humble opinion:

First of all, I think that the people REALLY have to understand that gender and sex is NOT the same thing. Human's anatomy doesn't have anything to do with how YOU identificate yourself.

Gender is a social construction and that isn't a surprising thing. I think that when people talk about this is really, really important that they had clear the difference between gender and sex (now I'll try to explain it with my words, I'm a shit explaining but I'm gonna try and express it as well as I can).

Sex is biological, with the types being female, male and intersex. While gender identity is naturally much broader, although I think that society and the human need to pigeonhole all kinds of things (orientation, gender, etc.) for a kind of order that I don't quite understand if I'm honest (but not I'm going to talk about that now) is something essential in this too. Something important from my point of view is that sex cannot be changed NATURALLY. Nowadays there are treatments, operations and professional surgeries to change the sex, the voice or in general the physical appearance in order for the person to feel much more comfortable and clear, like themselves. What I'm getting at with this is that sex does not change naturally, but the perception of our gender identity throughout our lives CAN change, and it is something completely natural. I really would like that one day society can be much more open to this and that they don't look at people who are not cisgender as strange things. First of all because it's none of your business, and second because it's completely normal.

I also wanna make clear that this is my opinion, my perception of all of this and I wanna express it with respect as always. Sorry if something can be misunderstood, I tried to explain it in a way kinda nice (?

I end this text by telling all trans people (both binary and non-binary) that you are completely valid. That someone who is biologically male but does not identify as cisgender (taking as an example who identifies as a woman) can easily be a lesbian, and the same with people who are biologically female but do not identify as women can be gay and valid.

Xoxo my fellow LGBTQ+ ppl. <3

#🎀 talkning 🎀 #lesbian pride #agender #sapphic #wlw #lesbian #transgender #nonbinary #gay #lgbtq community #lgbt support #trans rights #trans rights are human rights #transphobes get out my account #and homophobes get out too #lgbt phobes in general get out of my sight #growing up #natural stuff ^^ #love u <3 #mwah

[wetslug]

super interesting case @ work that highlights how complex sex/gender is: -2 year old little girl who presented w/ abdominal swelling, saw a mass on imaging thought it was an ovarian cyst -they removed it and it came back as a...malignant testicle tumor -did another exploratory surgery and removed another retained testicle, found no ovaries or uterus, vagina is blind-ended -did genetic testing and this little girl has XY chromosomes (doctors are obviously focused on other things now but the intersex condition she probably has is Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome because of the lack of uterus)

#the gonads in this condition have a high likelihood of developing cancer #but the 5 yr survival rate is 90% so hopefully all will be well #she has no gonads at all now though so will need hormone medication for the rest of her life #i mean shes only two so i guess they will have to see what gender she identifies with and tweak the hormones respectively

[intersex-support]

Image description: [Poster with intersex inclusive progress pride flag in the background. Text reads: Every Body Free Screenings. Boston, Thursday June 22 at 7pm. AMC Boston Common (175 Tremont St). Minneapolis, Thursday June 22 at 7pm. Showplace ICON at the West End (1625 West End Blvd). Philadelphia, Thursday June 22 at 7pm. PFS East (125 Sansom St Walkway). Chicago, Monday June 26 at 7pm. AMC River East 21 (322 E Illinois St). Los Angeles, Tuesday, June 27 at 6:30 pm. AMC The Grove (189 the Grove Dr). Q&A following the screening with Academy Award nominated, Emmy winning director Julie Cohen, producer Tommy Nguyen, and participant River Gallo. New York, Wednesday June 28th at 7pm. AMC Lincoln Square (1998 Broadway). Introduction by Academy Award-nominated, Emmy-winning director Julie Cohen.]

Summary of the film:

"Every Body is a revelatory investigation of the lives of intersex people. The film tells the stories of three individuals who have moved from childhoods marked by shame, secrecy, and non-consensual surgeries to thriving adulthoods after each decided to set aside medical advice to keep their bodies a secret and instead came out as their authentic selves. Actor and screenwriter River Gallo (they/them), political consultant Alicia Roth Weigel (she/they), and Ph.D. student Sean Saifa Wall (he/him) are now leaders in a fast-growing global movement advocating for greater understanding of the intersex community and an end to unnecessary surgeries. Woven into the story is a stranger-than-fiction case of medical abuse, featuring exclusive footage from the NBC News archives, which helps explain the modern-day treatment of intersex people."

I just got back from watching an early screening of this film and it was beautiful, powerful, and meaningful in ways I did not expect! Met so many intersex people in my city and it was just really really, incredible.

Really recommend watching this film for any intersex people. This is the link to rsvp to the free screenings.

The film will also be available in theaters on June 30th.

So, so excited about this!

#actuallyintersex #intersex #intersex pride #pride month #actually intersex #intersex positivity #trans

[orange-orchard-system]

I brought up my experience with botched surgery in a previous post, so let's talk about the topic. What's the deal with botched surgeries?

A botched surgery is, essentially, any surgery in which something went wrong – a medical fuck-up, if you will. This can include a lot of things depending on the surgery, ranging from potentially deadly to "whoops, let me fix that real quick", and so everyone who's had one will only have experience dealing with their specific problem. I'm saying this as a disclaimer that my advice is going to be colored by my experience with a botched surgery, and also to let you know that a botched surgery does not necessarily mean the mistake was a big one. Small mistakes can cause a botched surgery, too.

Surgery is often fearmongered by people throwing around the vague idea or only specific examples of a botched surgery, especially when it comes to gender-affirming surgeries, or surgeries done to restore an intersex person's natural body. Hearing so many horror stories about surgeries that went wrong, you may be discouraged from getting your own, even if it would improve your life.

Now, some people would just point to how low the risks of something going wrong are, and say that's why you shouldn't listen to these arguments. Personally, I find this method unhelpful, because it doesn't actually confront the source of people's anxieties, so let's confront reality with all its risks. What can you do if you're having a surgery and are scared about it being botched?

Pick a surgeon that you trust. If you get the opportunity to select who will be doing your surgery, ask for recommendations from your doctor, look up patient reviews, and go for whomever you have the most trust in to do it right. Steer clear of anyone who has a reputation for botching their work. [PT: Pick a surgeon that you trust. / end PT]

Ask what the expected recovery timeline will look like for you. Surgeons will be able to give you a rough estimate of how your recovery will go and how long it will take, as well as any problems you might want to look out for. I find this is especially important for more complex surgeries, as something that may seem like a problem at first may in fact be normal and expected. [PT: Ask what the expected recovery timeline will look like for you. / end PT]

Bring a trusted person to your appointment. Some surgeries/clinics may not allow anyone aside from the doctors and patient in the room, but others will be fine with it, and it can make you feel a lot better to have someone there with you as you go under, or just knowing they'll be waiting outside for you when you're done. They can also help if there's something specific you want to ask about but are scared to do it yourself, or if you feel you may need someone there to advocate for you. [PT: Bring a trusted person to your appointment. / end PT]

Request or schedule a check-up during your recovery. Even if you don't suspect anything has gone wrong, a doctor may be able to help you check for any issues you have missed. [PT: Request or schedule a check-up during your recovery. / end PT]

Listen to other people's recovery stories. You are not alone in being scared or going through surgery, and there are plenty out there who will be able to tell you what it was like for them going into the surgery, recovering from the surgery, and months or years down the life after the surgery. Carry their stories with you for courage, community, and solidarity. [PT: Listen to other people's recovery stories. / end PT]

Contact your doctor if you suspect something has gone wrong. If you're feeling unusual levels of discomfort, noticing signs of infection, or anything else that would normally tell you something is wrong, tell your doctor as soon as you can. They'll be able to help you choose your next steps and get your recovery back on track, even if it has to take a detour. [PT: Contact your doctor if you suspect something has gone wrong. / end PT]

If you fear something has gone seriously wrong, don't panic, but treat it like you would any other emergency. Go to the urgent care, go to the emergency room; skate on the safe side. Sometimes things happen and sometimes bad doctors get licenses – so if you think there's a problem that needs emergency treatment, go get that emergency treatment. You are being responsible by making sure everything is okay, so don't panic, remain hopeful but cautious, and go get it checked out as soon as you can.

If a problem is discovered and your surgery was botched, the steps you'll be offered will likely depend on your issue and the surgery you went through. After initial treatment to get my recovery back on track (it mainly consisted of cleaning out the area that was operated on and taking notes about what to watch out for going forward), I was offered either a second surgery to correct the issue or medication to prevent infection and discomfort, and I chose the latter. Sometimes problems may require more complicated treatment, but I find treatment often comes down to either of these solutions or a combination thereof. If you choose a second surgery but do not feel comfortable having your original surgeon do it, speak with your clinic/doctor about other surgeons who could do it for you – they'll almost certainly understand. If you've had to go to the emergency room to have emergency surgery, speak with your nurse or the doctor working on your case about what to do next, and then follow-up with your regular doctor once you've been discharged.

Having a botched surgery does not mean you are a bad person. It does not mean you are unlovable, repulsive, scum, or any other insult people throw out to discourage surgery. Even if things go horribly wrong, you can go on to live a fine life with moments of joy, things you enjoy, and people who like to be around you; even if a surgery makes you "ugly" or leaves you worse off than you were before, that does not mean you are worthless or deserve to be hated. No matter what, you deserve kindness, respect, and a good life. Your surgery going wrong is not a reflection of your worth.

Some reminders about surgery to close out this post:

If you're getting surgery on your chest/top surgery, it's possible you may wish to have a revision (second, smaller surgery to improve the results of the first) down the line. This does not necessarily mean your initial surgery was botched; it may simply mean the results were not exactly as desired. This is common and can help you feel more comfortable with your body/surgery.

Regardless of the type of surgery, you will feel weird and out of sorts for a while afterwards. This does not necessarily mean having that surgery was the wrong choice to make or that you regret it. Your brain is still adjusting to the change to its flesh prison; give it some time, and you'll likely find your mood improving as your recovery progresses.

Prepare in advance for your recovery period; do not leave things to the last minute! Supplies I recommend and often see recommended include: neck pillow, very long charger cord, soft and/or simple foods (even if your surgery has nothing to do with the mouth or throat; don't throw too much at your body while it's recovering), soft and loose clothes, and simple activities you will be able to do while recovering.

On that note, don't deny yourself certain things because you're scared of being "cliche", "childish", or whatever else. "Oh, but I don't need ice cream –" but would ice cream make your recovery period better? Then get the ice cream. "Oh, but I don't want to seem weak by using so many pillows –" your body is recovering from being cut open and things moved around. You're not weak for using multiple pillows to sit up or otherwise help your body as you recover. "Oh, but what if I look childish for bringing a stuffed animal into my appointment –" is that stuffed animal giving you the courage to face your surgery/check-up? Bring the stuffed animal with you and use it to sock anyone who gives you shit for it.

You will want the pain pills, by the way. If you have the okay to take pain pills, take the damn pain pills. You are not cool or strong for making yourself suffer. Take the pain pills and let your body rest without feeling the need to send alarm signals to your brain about pain all the time.

Surgery is exhausting. Do not be surprised when you are exhausted, and do not force yourself to do too much too soon. Milk the time off for what it's worth and lift not a finger you don't truly feel the need to.

Even if it's a complicated surgery, there is work being done all the time to improve results and reduce risks. Make sure the information you're researching is up-to-date and accounts for modern advances in the surgery you want.

TLDR: If you're scared of having a botched surgery, communicate with your doctors and whoever will be helping you through your recovery period. Remember that most surgical problems can be handled with proper treatment, and even if things go horribly wrong, you are not doomed to a terrible life without any happiness or good spots in it. Keep your chin up! Coming from someone who cashed in bad luck on the risks of surgery, it'll be alright even if you do have a botched surgery. Don't let the horror stories* scare you out of improving your life.

* There's probably something to be said here about how my existence is reduced to just a horror story used by people fearmongering surgery, but I won't get into that today. If you need inspiration, just look at me for it! I'm doing just fine despite the continued problems from my botched surgery, even though I've had to adjust my life to account for them, and you can too.

#séan.txt #trans #intersex #surgery #queer #long post #health