this-is-intersexism archive

i am not the original mod. this is simply here for me to preserve what i can of the original blog. please read the pinned post. tag me in posts from the original @this-is-intersexism blog.

[edwardallenpoe]

I saw that @this-is-intersexism is gone, what happened to them?? Does anybody know?

Edit: it looks like they've been terminated, I'm deeply disappointed and saddened by this. I hope they get reinstated or at least get to say something on this. This website is incredibly intersexist to its core, and tii was one of the only blogs on here that gave intersex people a safe space.

[this-is-exorsexism]

managed to save the url @this-is-intersexism so no bad actor can use it. if needed i can make it into another archive similar to this so the posts are not lost.

this is so awful to keep happening to important voices and spaces for marginalized users on tumblr.

if the original mod posts a statement or had posted about harassment, deactivation, or similar. please send it to me. if there is a new blog taking experiences in the meanwhile please tell me and i will boost it

a blog which is currently taking asks just like the original did is @thisis-intersexism

[this-is-intersexism]

editing my reblog today (October 24th) because i hit post limit on my entire account after filling this blog and @this-is-exorsexism up as much as tumblr would let me. sorry for speaking on your post again. it's still temporary as a placeholder i swear.

right now there are 149 posts reblogged. even more are waiting in drafts. of course it's not all of them, so thank you to everyone who tagged me in what you found, and thanks to those still searching with me. the blog is set up with a desktop theme (my information page is here)

sorry for the brief hiatus i took. depression is a struggle because i was (still am) struggling with how bad things are on here. the "real world" being just as horrid to anyone marginalized does not help. but i'll keep trying my best even if i take a mental health break a few times.

just as a note to those reading this while it's pinned: other blogs now taking asks are @this-is-intermisogyny and @this-is-internoirism (if you know any others i missed please send them in. they will be added to the finished pinned/promo post whenever tumblr allows me to post again.)

@thisis-intersexism now has an archive of its own up on @thisis-intersexism-archive which you should support even though the blog is still active.

with so many intersex blogs deleted/deactivated (discussed here and here) in such a short time, along with the hostility of the site only increasing from what i can see, i think it's good to make archives before anything bad happens.

(this also goes for non-intersex-focused blogs since @this-is-exorsexism had the same thing happen.)

[this-is-intersexism]

i have knewly started working in a nursery. My coworker mentioned having to take some time off because her very little son ( i think about 1 year old) had surgery scheduled. i didn't pry but she explained that 'when the testes descended the hole didnt close up, so he has to get surgery' which rang massive alarm bells as being a ''''normalising'''' corrective infant surgery on an intersex kid. I didnt want to pry or push her, and this was literally like my second day on the job, but I rlly wish I had taken an opportunity to gently question whether the surgery was actually medically necessary. She is now on that shceduled holiday so I suppose it is too late now

may it be inguinal hernia? it sounds kinda fitting the description she gave. in this case, surgery may be needed, and it's not cosmetic because intestines may be infringed upon the foramen, and it's an actual problem. (sometimes it's possible to wait and look if hernia resolves on itself, but we don't know anything about this child's situation).

if she mentioned the undescended testicle, then it is likely igm.

i don't know the situation enough to say something meaningful. if the topic is mentioned again and/or if you suspect her child is intersex, i'll recommend you to direct her to intersex resources like interACT (clickable) and/or your local intersex organizations if you have ones. if her child is intersex, they will likely face other medical or social pressure because of their intersexness, and maybe she would be able to prevent it and advocate for them.

[this-is-intersexism]

i gotta say this blog is really helping me. i'm the anon from awhile back who's AFAB and now identifies as a trans man who talked about other trans men being jealous of me and angry when i discussed i might be intersex. seeing the thing about birth control was a question i was always terrified to ask. by the time of my early 20s i didn't really have the secondary sex characteristics of a woman, and i had the right reproductive organs but my genitals were kind of... off and told i was infertile. i looked more androgynous with some masculine secondary sex characteristics like excessive body hair, chest hair, and i had beard fuzz. i saw an obgyn who ran a hormone panel, looked at my genitals, and when i asked him what his conclusion was, what the hormone panel said, what was wrong, etc. he told me it was nothing and prescribed me birth control i didn't really want, but he told me it would help my "hormones" and my "symptoms". after i started taking it, i began to grow breasts. i began to grow hips. i have photos of myself before and after this that are strikingly different. it made me deeply upset, i was so dysphoric, but i wasn't sure if birth control was potent enough to do that.

this is intersexism.

this is a common form of non-consensual "treatment" of intersex people. doctors just say nothing and prescribe drugs without any explanations and discussion with the patient. it's awful. we have a right to know what happens with our bodies. we have a right to make decisions about treatment or lack of it with proper information about every option and without fearmongering. doctors often don't even ask about issues, they just assume that our intersex traits must concern us, and we must want to get rid of them and get as perisex-looking (for our assigned gender) body as possible. when it is very much not the case for a lot of intersex people. they just project their own prejudices on us.

(your second ask will be published next, and i'm glad this blog is helpful for you).

[this-is-intersexism]

so, im intersex, CTF and on testosterone. at the time, i didn't think too hard about all this. but i just had a follow up appointment where I was asked some rather odd and irrelevant questions.

i went to the sexual health clinic to get some tests and had a generally fine appointment. I also had a surprise (consensual) screening and examination of my genitalia for a smear- but then ended up with two other nurses being called in to "check" my anatomy. this felt....jarring and uncomfortable, like i was some sort of freak show on display for people with my most private area just being gawked at. i'd never experienced that before, but i thought it was 'necessary' at the time and part of the test. i don't particularly like seeing a gyno anyway and thought that was why I was uncomfortable.

then at the follow up appointment, the nurse was talking to me about how my privates looked and testosterone and asking about my hormones and transition, when this was not relevant in the slightest. i was there for a hepatitis vaccine 😐

this is intersexism.

excessive focus on intersex traits when they're not relevant to the patient's issue is a huge part of medical intersexism. just as unnecessary procedures to satisfy the curiosity of medical workers. it is offensive and dehumanizing, and it is a part of seeing intersexness as something pathological and "freaky."

[this-is-intersexism]

the fact that i keep second-guessing myself and thinking i can't be intersex because i don't quite resemble others who have my same diagnosed variation, but i also don't quite fit perisex standards and i've dealt with the consequences of that for a long time now; the fact that i feel like i'm toeing a line that shouldn't be there in the first place

this is intersexism.

a lot of intersex people struggle with intersex imposter syndrome because of all mistification of intersexness and narrative that intersex people are extremely rare. it is a tool of oppression that prevents us from seeking community and pushes us to think that we're just broken and need to be "fixed."

you're not alone, and you're welcome in intersex community.

[this-is-intersexism]

welcome to this is intersexism!

[large text: welcome to this is intersexism!]

this blog is inspired by @this-is-exorsexism (thank you for your work) and basically follows the pattern. i think it would be helpful to have a place to collect and discuss examples of intersexism to raise awareness about it and to make it easier to recognize. (and also to have opportunity to vent about it).

everyone are welcome to submit examples of intersexism!

due to its nature, the blog doesn't support gatekeeping of intersex label from people who naturally have sex variations, but may be not considered intersex by medical community (for example, people with PCOS or gynecomastia).

this blog doesn't have DNI, but hate speech will be deleted or mocked, and the sender will be blocked.

what is intersexism?

[large text: what is intersexism?]

intersexism is a discrimination that disproportionally affects (primarily targets) intersex people.

what is intersex?

[large text: what is intersex?]

according to interACT:

any innate physical trait that falls under the umbrella of variations in sex characteristics, generally meaning that the variation:

shows up in a person’s chromosomes, genitals, gonads or other internal reproductive organs, or how their body produces or responds to hormones;

differs from what society or medicine considers to be “typical” or “standard” for the development, appearance, or function of female bodies or male bodies; and

is present from birth or develops spontaneously later in life.

[this-is-intersexism]

Just wondering is this an intersexist experience/is this forced HRT?

I haven't menstruated in 5 or 4 years due to (very likely) having PCOS. Back when doctors started examining what caused me to not menstruate, I was prescribed dydrogesterone which did make me menstruate again but I stopped using it as I do not want to menstruate. (I'm transmasc)

I didn't really want to take dydrogesterone but I did feel pressured to take it. I was supposed to continue taking it but I only used it for a short while.

I do now know I'm intersex as I very clearly have hyperandrogenism. I was reminded of this experience as I'm trying to seek a diagnosis for the hyperandrogenism and feel frustrated by the fact I'll most likely have to take dydrogesterone again even though I do not want to. Hopefully now that I am an adult I can decide for myself.

this is intersexism.

if they didn't properly inform you about the treatment and other options, and didn't take your wishes into account, it isn't actually informed consent.

doctors often give intersex people little-to-no explanations about prescribed interventions. they brush off questions and don't give other options. they may fearmonger about consequences of refusing. (sometimes there are consequences, sometimes there isn't, sometimes they're actually smaller / not dangerous / okay / even desirable for intersex person. it's very nuanced. doctors lack nuances on this topic).

some pressure is more obvious, some is more subtle. in any case, it's still pressure. people can't consent under pressure.

i hope you'll be able to find doctors who would listen to you and won't pressure you into taking hormones. and i wish you luck in advocating for yourself and your needs.

[hyperandrogenic-wolf]

Reblogging this as I'm the anon and I want to remember what the response was. Also an update on the situation:

I was listened to now. I'm being tested for NCAH and if my 17-OHP levels are over 5 nmol/l, further testing will be run at the endocrinology department. If my levels are not over 5 nmol/l, I'll be diagnosed with PCOS. I also don't need to menstruate anymore, as I'll be prescribed lynestrenol to keep my endometrium from growing while I take metformin too.

So yay for me. I'll still have to take dydrogesterone too for some reason but only temporarily, before I start lynestrenol.

[this-is-intersexism]

[this-is-intersexism]

the lack of recognition of how bathroom bills affect intersex people is intersexism.

this laws are usually pushed under transmisic agenda, and it's fair that trans rights advocacy addresses transmisia in these campains and laws. but these laws also affect intersex people.

some intersex people look visibly sex variant. and they are also seen as a threat to the sex and gender essentionalism. transmisia and intersexism are intertwined and may become inseparable in some parts.

intersex people are also at risk in gendered spaces. we can also be harassed, banned, charged for "violation," face various violence.

it's important to recognize that risk and remember about intersex people in discussions of these laws.

[ichliebemeinkissen]

& no, perisex people, intersex people being affected isn't "cis people caught in the crossfire/latteral agression". They hate us too.

[pingintech]

it is not a coincidence how many republican politicians and pundits talk about there only being two biological (sexes) genders and going on and on and on about chromosomes

there are definitely some who are dumb enough to not know intersex people exist but the vast majority have been told about intersex people over and over and over again and they actively detest that fact of nature just as much as they do perisex transgender people

[this-is-intersexism]

I asked someone else this too, but I want the word of multiple people if that's ok. I'm arguing with a term and they are saying that the gender binary is completely true and that all intersex people fit into it completely. Is this intersexism?

this is intersexism and exorsexism.

gender binary is not true. sex binary is also not true. they're so intertwined that it's hard to separate them (like patriarchy attributes gender to sex traits and sees sex traits as a part of gendered expectations).

they're both socially constructed and intended to be oppressive and restrictive.

insisting that intersex people fit in the binaries is either erasure of our genders (if the person means that all intersex people have binary genders) or medicalization of our intersexness (seeing us as "one of the two, just broken and need to be fixed).

sex & gender binaries are like. the key oppressive tools in intersexism.

[this-is-intersexism]

Idk if this belongs here because i'm bad at wording this things but readers: huge tw for mentions of csa & forced intersex medical procedures...

.

.

Something that I feel is never talked about, but as somebody w sexual trauma & who has went through having my gents poked & prodded as a kid, is that a lot of people who have gone through forced dialation or stimulation & shit like that probably have trauma because of that but because it happened when a lot of us were so young / is so normalized a lot of people will just not recognize that for what it is.

It feels like a limbo because while these things are mentioned sometimes in the intersex community, I feel like there's no actual discussion about how it affects people.. & Especially outside of the intersex community in more general places to discuss these kinds of things there's just no room to talk about how intersexism can lead to very genuine trauma in this regard..

Intersex people are so invisible & our struggles are so normalized that it honestly feels impossible to talk about & be taken seriously.

this is intersexism.

a lot of "treatment" for intersex people would be considered sexual assault if it happened to perisex people. a lot of intersex people consider what happened to them sexual assault. but society doesn't question its attitude to intersex people and is unwilling to question medical workers. when we're seen as abnormality, as freaks, as in need to be fixed, people justify horrific abuse when it happens in medical setting.

[this-is-intersexism]

I hate shaving so much!! I have dark and thick body hair in a male typical pattern, shaving makes me feel bare and exposed.

pressure to shave is intersexism.

i hope you'll be able to escape this pressure.

[this-is-intersexism]

Are people who hate on intersex AFAB transfems w/ PCOS and intersex AFAB transfems w/ hyperandrogenism (as their only intersex variation) intersexist? I think it is intersexism, but I wanted to confirm. Thanks so much.

this is intersexism.

all intersex people are intersex. intersex transfems with hyperandrogenism know their gender identity and how their experience was shaped by intersex status, intersexism, and transmisia.

people who hate on transfems with PCOS / hyperandrogenism specifically basically fakeclaim them as "not real intersex people." hormonally intersex people face a lot of pushback and fakeclaiming, even in some intersex communities.

this is extremely intersexist. painting hormonally intersex people as "just disordered and not actually intersex" is the same intersex medicalization and pushing them into medical abuse.

all intersex people are intersex.

this also enforces the ATIB (across the isle binary) ideas that people should be "far enough from their transition goal" to be "actually trans." which is transmedicalist, exorsexist, and intersexist on its own.

[this-is-intersexism]

big intersex blogger is actively censoring intersex voices when we say some cis intersex ppl can even Experience transmisogyny let alone be TMA. because "all cis people are tme"

this is intersexism.

besides all levels of bullshit in TMA/TME dichotomy and ignoring nuances of intersex cis experience.

it's interesting (/sarcasm) considering how often intersexists use transmisogyny specifically to target intersex people.

chromosome testing in sports that are pushed under the transmisogyny agenda. they're also intersexist by nature. why resort to chromosome testing when you can request history of document changes? governments collect these data. it would be easier and cheaper if they asked for it. but they use chromosome testing. it allows to target intersex people as well. it is both transmisogyny and intersexism (and racism, and result of oppositional sexism, there are a lot). transmisogyny and intersexism feed each other.

some terfs claiming that all intersex people are "disordered males." they use their transmisogyny to exclude intersex people from their "women-only" places and mentality. transmisogynistic narrative enforces intersexism.

a lot of transmisic caricatures (including transmisogynistic ones) apply to intersex people. if intersex people can look just like these pictures, why would they be treated differently?

it's just examples of the top of my head. there are more.

transmisia and intersexism are deeply connected. they feed each other. one can't exist without the other.

[this-is-intersexism]

was told I couldn't be intersex by a doctor because I wasn't a [h slur]

this is intersexism.

i'm sorry you have to deal with such ignorance. doctors generally know nothing about intersex community and what "counts" as intersex. the medical field puts a lot of efforts in pathologizing, medicalizing, and erasing intersex people. so, even otherwise credible medical resources are very often bigoted in intersex topics. it's very unlikely to get confirmation from the doctor that you're intersex. the maximum you can get is "DSD." but often they don't say it either because of various prejudices.

[ririwithrice]

these are medical professionalssss this is so fucking disheartening man, if anyone should know anything (apart from intersex ppl themselves) about intersex people it’s doctors

[this-is-intersexism]

unfortunately, doctors often are the worst intersexists. medical field treats intersex people as anomaly, as "disordered" and need to be fixed at all cost. so doctors are often misinformed themselves because of lack of studies and biases of existing studies, and they use misinformation to force "treatments" on intersex people.

so yes, doctors should know better, but usually they know the worst.

[this-is-intersexism]

ok so, im intersex and i made a post in a community asking to meet other intersex people (yes i know, stupid idea) and someone came into the comments and went "hi sorry for asking this" and then proceeded to ask me what intersex was and if it was a third gender and then asked if people with h*rmphroditeism counts as intersex!

this is intersexism.

i'm sorry you had to deal with invasive questions and free educational work when you just wanted to hang out. it is literally bigotry 101 — jump on marginalized person with questions about their marginalized identity without any possible prompting. especially when answers can be easily found in educational groups/online communities/literal google. and the slur! awful.

it's vile.

[this-is-intersexism]

i was told i wasn't intersex because turner syndrome 'makes me a woman' and i 'don't have male parts' :/

this is intersexism.

gatekeeping of intersex label is such a bullshit. turner syndrome is widely recognized as intersex variation by intersex community.