#sex variations

[sex-variant]

I’m still here by the way, I just haven’t felt that I have anything positive to say really, and it’s been hard to find uplifting posts in the intersex tags to share here.

I suppose a small personal update– following some more medical digging, I have learned that I have more internal reproductive organs, and of a different composition than I thought I did. I don’t necessarily know what this will mean for the future, but it’s helpful to have a better understanding of my own body.

[intersexfairy]

hey i have a really dumb question. would pmdd (pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder) be considered intersex? i don't think so tbh as a perisex (now questioning?) person due to the lack of mention for androgens or other hormones, though i also know that's not the only way for intersex variations to exist, but i genuinely cannot find any sort of answer anywhere leaning one way or the other. i don't care but i just want to know and this is frustrating!

it's not a bad question! i have mixed feelings; i don't really consider it intersex. since i define intersexness as someone who (by natural circumstance) has differences in sex chromosomes, sex hormones, or physical sex traits, leading them not to fit into the sex binary.

so i'd consider PMDD as a reproductive condition, not a sex variation. however, all people with reproductive differences are united in our fight against oppression - intersexism, sexism, and ableism often occur alongside each other. also, many intersex people have reproductive disabilities.

although, some intersex people do consider conditions like PMDD as intersex. but even if we don't, we often still welcome people with shared struggles into our spaces. so yeah, there's no real clear answer. i guess it would come down to what makes you feel empowered, and the community you're in.

[derangedroyalfae]

Anyone know what kind of butterfly this is? Like it’s name/species?

I know that one is female and the other is male (and the middle is a gyandromorph), but I wanted to know the “breed.”

UPDATE: Sorry to answer my own question, but I discovered it’s called Speyeria diana!

[sex-variant]

I've been debating whether I ought to coin a term for all natural variations related to sexual development (separate from varsex/varisex as that label includes desired and artificially-altered characteristics) as not all innate sex variations are considered intersex in most spaces (eg bicornuate uterus, precocious puberty, hypogonadism, athelia, primary ovarian insufficiency, endometriosis).

While I would appreciate having such a label to highlight the commonalities across all natural sex variations as I think there are a lot of shared experiences, and it's hard to find shared positivity or support; I've seen multiple posts suggesting that coming up with new microlabels may make some intersex people more hesitant to call themselves intersex and can lead to the intersex liberation movement being slowed as fewer people will participate in it. At the moment, I feel my reasoning for wanting to coin such a term is superseded as I would naturally rather not contribute to further division in such an essential liberation movement.