This is an unrolled thread by @ mrkhtake2
(links in document at end)
"We need to talk about what’s happening to the intersex community. I mean, seriously. I know I talk about it all the time but it’s critical, so here’s a quick thread with a potted background and a few articles raising intersex voices.
Currently there’s a lot of talk about intersex conditions, “sex spectrums”, women without wombs, etc. I see John Money being extolled as an expert (Google him if you don’t know – it’s grim). A lot of this talk unfortunately ends up getting regurgitated in the mainstream media too
The problem in the UK is that Trans Media Watch have been allowed to become voice of the intersex community, for example, in this report to the hate crimes committee which was submitted by them..
[link in doc]
The document says intersex all over it but represents very little from intersex community. In fact, if this is supposed to be looking at accurate reporting and media representation in order to fight prejudice, why didn’t they pick up on this?
@ NUJofficial why does your LGBT+ advice say that intersex people are transgender and reduce complex medical conditions to one wildly inaccurate statement? This is ignorant and offensive, and explains why our representation is so poor in the media. Can you please fix this?
Quick note: The head of NUJ ethics council has said they will review this at their next meeting since being made aware
Gender radical trans organisations can’t represent intersex people as their beliefs are interphobic. I witness this all the time. The gender radical view that chromosomes have nothing to do with sex and my inability to conform means I am called a man a lot by trans activists.
In other words, I must be “fixed” or comply. If you want to begin to understand the damage that does, this article contains the perspective of women with MRKH and the experts that work with them.
Here’s a perspective from another organisation that supports women with AIS [see link in doc]
My friend with CAIS has had very similar to me from trans activists and I know how upsetting that has been for her too.
Not only does gender radical thinking take from us the language we need to understand our bodies the whole approach to intersex flies in the face of what the community explicitly wants for itself. For example WPATH’s disappointing pathologizing of treatment for intersex children
WPATH guidelines available here if you want to feel futile about the medical profession [link in doc]
This has caused understandably heated reactions from the intersex community
Here’s an interesting and devastating blog post from an intersex person in the Netherlands about the impact such protocols has had on their own medical care.
However transgender people want their conditions to be categorised and treated, this has nothing to do with intersex people. As you can see this conflation is harmful to the intersex community, who represent a minority but crucial voice in this whole debate.
That voice is being drowned out. Intersex and transgender are not the same thing. In reality, very few transgender people actually have intersex conditions.
Even those members of our community that do transition are finding this appropriation difficult and noticing rifts within the community and their voices being drowned out. For such a tiny group, we cannot allow this to happen.
There are no laws protecting intersex people in the UK. They are an incredibly vulnerable group. We need to find a way to prevent this appropriation and give a voice to the community before they are silenced completely.
In the meantime, go and follow @ ClareCAIS and @ RaeUK, two amazing intersex women who explain all of this stuff better than I ever will.
I'm also going to add @TriciaFrasman's brilliant thread that picks apart the offensive "sex spectrum" arguments used. I also recommend giving Dr Tricia a follow."
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1013106135002476544.html
