#tenspeaks

[ten-is-intersex]

Me @ perisex folk who send me asks: You are not entitled to know my CAGAB

You are not entitled to know what parts I do (and don’t!) have either.

You aren’t going to get an answer about what ‘I actually am’. It’s none of your business + as an intersex person, there is no straight answer. I define my own definition of myself.

I’m ignoring asks about this going forward.

[ten-is-intersex]

Folk aren’t tagging flashing images or for eyestrain and my photosensitive brain is Not Having It.

I want to be more active here but this site has become Not As Accessible for me :/ which I do plan on talking more about soon! I’m not completely leaving Tumblr, just won’t be able to check it as much this month <— is hoping by November when Halloween is just Not The Main Holiday, the amount of untagged flashing stuff will go down?? Maybe!!

In the meantime for all of yall with strong reactions to flashing images or eyestrain: Tread tumblr carefully right now 🫂 I’ve been having really bad reactions due to seeing flashing images and stuff just Uncensored.

(Literally wrote this post, sitting up at 4am, because I’ve been up for an hour trying to make sure I don’t have a seizure!! Tag Your Photos And Such Please!)

[ten-is-intersex]

PCOS Butch Flag

I’m a butch sapphic with PCOS so I decided to make a flag for it!

The two teal stripes represent PCOS alongside the orange stripes from the OG butch pride flag!

The teal ring (PCOS) and the orange ring (butch identity) overlapping represents how having PCOS can influence butch identity in a way where the two coexist and actually often intersect!

(Free for use if you’re intersex w/ credit @tendajiphoenix)

[ten-is-intersex]

I was hesitant to post these pictures at first. I mulled on it for hours both today and yesterday leading up until now.

Yes even after the time it took me to set up the lighting, make sure my flag was upright….something in me said I shouldn’t post these photos. It took me a lot of reflecting and thinking but in the end I figured out where this feeling was coming from.

It was fear due to my rocky past growing up intersex.

Intersex Awareness Day has always been a day for me that comes with a lot of complex feelings ever since I found out it was a day that was well known! Like I said in my article through interACT, I had been out to myself as being intersex since I was 15 years old. However, my journey into advocacy and just being more open with the world about my experiences began this year.

But in that same vein, I’m also getting used to being more visible to myself. Genuinely every time I decide to be more open, I’m having to confront the voice in my head that says “to be me is to be silent”. It’s having to conquer that fear of being…perceived as I am- not who I was always told I should be.

To be intersex for me was not always something to be embraced. For a long time, it was something I was shamed for wanting to be more open about.

To be me is to be open and be seen. To face this fear of being open is to be aware of it and challenge myself to push on, one day at a time.

Let the record show I’m proud I can finally say: I’m a transfeminine woman with PCOS who proudly takes T! My disability and my intersex identity intertwine very closely for me. Intersex people have existed for a very long time and will continue to do so!

Happy Intersex Awareness Day everyone.

I’m happy to say I’m no longer as afraid to embrace what this day means to me: To be aware of how different I am and how grateful I am to be able to embrace it finally.

(p.s: I have some pretty big news I’ll be posting soon in relation to my advocacy journey! I’m so excited! Stay tuned💛).

[ten-is-intersex]

Shout out to people with PCOS!

To those with PCOS who take testosterone! Being on T rocks but also can be overwhelming! (I say as someone on T lol!) Please take care of yourselves! I hope you embrace your deep voice, body hair and all the changes that come with this! 💙

To those with PCOS who take estrogen. I hope your E makes you feel happier. I hope you learn to love how soft you’re becoming! HRT brings such awesome yet overwhelming changes so take it one day at a time. (Saying this because when I did take E, I genuinely felt So Much and wasn’t expecting it lol!) 🩵

To those with PCOS who don’t take any HRT. Yall’re awesome too. Let no one say you need to be on HRT in order to “manage” your PCOS. It isn’t required! Any doc who demands you take hormones you don’t want? Leave their office and find a new provider ASAP✨ You have every right to decline care you don’t want/need!💙

Shout out to folk with PCOS who are just learning what this means for them! I hope you get clarity. I hope every day feels less confusing and you feel more at home now that you have an answer. When I learned about my PCOS, I stumbled around for a bit but it eventually got easier. 🩵

Shout out to folk with PCOS who identify as intersex but only speak about it with those they trust. Protect your peace and remember, you owe no one you don’t trust an explanation about your identity. Be you and be proud- even if it means protecting yourself and identifying as you are in silence. 💙

Shout out to folk with PCOS who aren’t sure if they can even say they’re intersex. I’ve been there and just want to remind you that it’s okay to be unsure. It’s okay to hesitate but remember you’re not “taking up space” or “talking over intersex people”. You fit here too. The community is here for you when/if you’re ready! However, you aren’t required to ID as intersex if you don’t want to though. Promise. 🩵

Shout out to folk with PCOS who proudly and openly identify as intersex! It’s hard to be open and proud given how things are. I see yall and am so proud! Keep fighting and loving yourselves unabashedly! 💙

Shout out to folks who don’t ID as women who also have PCOS. I’m talking about nonbinary folk with PCOS, men with PCOS, multigender folk with PCOS (like me!)- the list goes on! We’re left out of these convos due to PCOS being seen as something that only affects cis perisex women. Remember we’re here and our voices matter too! 🩵

Shout out to POC with PCOS! Our existence is important and we have every right to demand we be treated with respect, whether it be from doctors or others around us. Your identity and voice matters. (Genuinely I have so much to say on this, esp as a POC myself but I’ll do so in a separate post!)

To my fellow PCOS havers, no matter how you do/don’t identify, whether you call yourself intersex or not- I see you and stand with you.✨ Giving you all a bowl of soup and a warm blanket during these trying times.

💙🩵💙🩵

[ten-is-intersex]

Name: Ten (short for Tendaji)

Age: 25

Pronouns: he/it/she

About me: Hi! My name's Tendaji but you can call me Ten! I'm an intersex person who uses he/it/she pronouns! i'm also a full time wheelchair user, am hard of hearing, and am v neurodivergent! (also autistic).

tags:

tenspeaks -> me rambling/small lil posts

tenwrites -> me writing essays/poetry posts about my experiences

intersexthings -> posts specifically about being intersex

tendajis -> art tag!

the phoenix responds -> asks (anon or not!)

the phoenix’s queue -> scheduled posts