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| Australian Musician Blume |
Australian musician and activist Blume was diagnosed with androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) at the age of 16, which led to the discovery that they were intersex. The doctor advised them against sharing their diagnosis widely due to fear of discrimination, but this only engendered a feeling of shame within Blume.
The lack of representation of intersex variations within media further exacerbated the situation. If intersex was mentioned, it was only about rumours about celebrities, which only harmed the community. Blume initially believed they had to conceal their identity to succeed in their aspirations as a musician or actor. As they grew older and became more in tune with their identity, getting involved in the intersex community and the LGBT community, they had a revelation of sorts.
Blume felt like this was something that they were very proud of and could potentially help change the narrative. As they grew their platform on social media, they opened up about being intersex and found thousands of fans engaging in their advocacy. This revelation lit a fire inside of them, and they want to advocate for this and inspire other young intersex people to be out and open as well.
Ahead of Intersex Awareness Day on October 26, BAZAAR spoke to Blume and Executive Director of Intersex Human Rights Australia (IHRA), Morgan Carpenter, about what it means to be intersex and how endosex people (those who aren't intersex) can be better allies to the community.
Intersex is an umbrella term for a variety of natural biological variations that differ from the typical male and 'female' phenotypes. These variations can be determined prenatally, at birth, during puberty, when trying to conceive a child, or at other times. Examples include androgen insensitivity syndrome, gonadal dysgenesis, micropenis, sex chromosome variations, and congenital adrenal hyperplasia with XX or mosaic sex chromosomes.
Intersex people face various issues due to the perception of their bodies as different, leading to stigmatisation, discrimination, and harmful practices such as medical interventions, often termed "intersex genital mutilation" or "IGM." These interventions can have detrimental consequences, including pain, trauma, shame, loss of sexual function and sensation, urinary incontinence and urgency, ongoing medical treatment or repeat surgeries, experiences of violation and sexual assault, reinforcement of incorrect sex assignment, loss of autonomy, and loss of choice.
Myths and misconceptions about the intersex community perpetuate a lack of understanding and contribute to a negative perception of being intersex. One common misconception is related to an antiquated word that originated in Greek mythology, which used to be used as a synonym for 'intersex' but is now widely considered offensive to be used outside of the community. Blume and Carpenter argue that people should just be able to identify however they want and that the binary gender debate should not exist anymore.
There is often a false equivalence between the intersex community and the LGBT and gender-diverse community, further complicated by the inclusion of "I" for intersex in the extended LGBTQIA+ acronym. However, each person has a different understanding of which communities they identify with.
Intersex people are not necessarily LGBT, as misconceptions often associate particular gender identities or sex classifications with innate variations of sex characteristics. Many people feel that their intersex variation plays very little to no part in their identity, as they think cisgendered and heterosexual. However, many intersex people think their issues intersect with issues of gender identity and sexuality and consider themselves part of the queer community.
To be a better ally to intersex people, Blume and Carpenter recommend researching via reputable sources like Intersex Human Rights Australia (IHRA) and InterACT, diversifying your social media feed with intersex advocates and personalities, and listening to intersex people's lives and experiences. Respecting the individuality of people within the intersex community and their preferences for self-identification is also essential.
Intersex Awareness Day is celebrated annually on October 26, and Intersex Day of Solidarity on November 8, which recognises the visibility of the intersex community and raises awareness of the community's human rights issues. Intersex advocates find the experience of receiving messages from intersex people rewarding and believe it is time to make the world safer for everyone and start valuing people's unique perspectives on life and their experiences.
This article is republished from Harper's Bazaar. Click here to read the original article.
