Sex-Variant

Today is the International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV). Each year on March 31, we observe TDOV to celebrate the lives of transgender people. The day also brings attention to the discrimination, misunderstanding and threats to safety that transgender people still face.

Transgender and intersex are different. Transgender people have a gender identity that is different from the gender they were thought to be when they were born. Intersex people are born with physical variations (like in their chromosomes, hormones or reproductive anatomy) that don’t fit neatly into binary sex categories. 

Are intersex people also transgender? Not necessarily, but they can be. Gender is a complex set of relationships about personal identity, a person’s relationship to their body, and to the world around them. Many intersex people aren’t transgender—they are cisgender women or men. Some intersex people also just happen to be transgender in addition to being born with physical differences. For others, their gender identities are linked to being intersex.

Intersex and transgender people both challenge the idea of a clear-cut sex and gender binary. People who are both intersex and transgender live at an intersection. For this Transgender Day of Visibility, we talked to intersex people who are also transgender about their lives.

[PT: Interaplatonic flag]

[ID from alt: a flag with 9 stripes and a symbol in the center. The stripes from top to bottom are dark purple, blue, green, yellow, bright purple, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The symbol is a yellow circle incased in bright purple, with a dark purple apple in the center. /End ID]

[ID from alt: the same flag without the apple. /End ID]

This is a flag for people whose intersexuality and aplatonicness are inherently important to each other in some way.

I wanna put a name to a phenomenon I keep seeing, which is that terminology that gets invented for talking about gender/sex in nuanced ways keeps getting turned into the same old binary.

There's a phenomenon in linguistics known as the Euphemism Treadmill (originally the Euphemism Cycle) that gets at how euphemisms tend to have short life spans.

Somebody makes a new term trying to get away from the stigma of the current word. Before long the new term has developed the same old stigma. For example: moron was replaced with "socially retarded" with the hope it would be a less stigmatising word, and instead the r-word became yet another slur, so "special needs" gets coined and it doesn't take long for "special" to get used as an insult.

In that vein, I propose the "Binary Treadmill" as a name for how terms that are trying to get away from the sex/gender binary keep turning into new binaristic terms. AFAB and AMAB have gotten fully detached from their origins to become new pericisnormative terms for female and male. CTF and CTM weren't intended to be used to make a new binary but in practice that's how I've mostly seen them used. Same deal with TME and TMA.

12 years on, there are far more people in our community, in our population, who are willing to be visible. Back then it was harder. The consequences of being visible were quite demanding for people. In many ways they still are.

Advocating for yourself at the doctor’s can be tough. Intersex people and people with variations in sex characteristics face numerous barriers when seeking healthcare. We face stigma, discrimination, and under-educated providers. In just one visit, we often have to: - Define our anatomy and our variation - Ask about symptoms related to sex traits - Voice needs for sensitive exams - Express (dis)comfort around medical student observers - Explain past procedures - Communicate gender identity … and so much more. But it doesn’t have to be that way! We want to improve communication between intersex people and their healthcare providers. For Intersex Awareness Week 2025, we’re proud to share the new (always free) Patient Self-Advocacy Toolkit for Intersex People and People with Variations in Sex Characteristics. The Self-Advocacy Toolkit helps intersex people prepare for healthcare visits, communicate their needs, and advocate for safe, respectful, and compassionate care. Thank you to the intersex people and those with variations in their sex characteristics, researchers and healthcare providers who shared their insights and imagination to help develop this tool.

Click on the photo above, or the link below, to access the resource!

PT: Intersex Jewish & Disabled Pride Flag /end PT

ID: a yellow flag with a purple symbol made of the outline of circle, a six pointed star inside and a dot placed centered inside. End ID

Flag made taking the icons from @prettyboychik Jewish pride icons posts (link) he made by combining the Magen David and the disability sun symbol (link). I found this idea to be both gorgeous and strong. Ence why I've used it for this design. But it's not only reason; the sun symbol is used by intersex people too, which makes the sun symbol perfect for this design!

Result: a simple flag that looks sick.

I've been questioning if I was intersex for some time now, but just today I've discovered that I am. I'm relieved, thought I could make a lilttle flag to celebrate myself.

Right now, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), tasked with investigating “unfair and deceptive practices” that harm consumers, is abusing its authority to wrongfully target healthcare for trans & intersex youth. The FTC has asked for public comments to bolster its false narratives about gender-affirming care, such as that trans youth and their families have been “misled” about the benefits or were not informed of risks. We know that these claims aren’t true – meanwhile, the FTC has nothing to say to the intersex people and families who have had real experiences like this. From now until September 26, you have an opportunity to tell the FTC the truth: 🏥 Gender-affirming care is life-saving treatment for intersex people, too (like Courtney!) 🚫 If the FTC really cared about protecting children, it would be asking about intersex genital mutilation (IGM) instead. Our wonderful allies at A4TE have created an online portal to send in your comments in a way that protects your privacy, a handy template for comments, and a link (here) to the FTC's commenting page: