xenoqueer:

A hopefully easier to read version of this post.

☿  Intersex oppression can be called intersexism, perisexism, dyadism, intersexphobia, intersexmisia, intersex antagonism, or anti-intersex bigotry. The most common terms, however, are intersexism and dyadism.

☿  Hermaphrodite as a term saw several decades of positive self-descriptive use among intersex people. It has since been used as a slur, with such overwhelming success that many intersex people hate hearing the word. However, plenty of older intersex folks still use it.

☿  Non-intersex people are known as “dyadic” or “perisex” people. It is entirely possible for any perisex person, even a very very queer one, to uphold perisexist norms that harm intersex people. 

☿  Intersex genital mutilation is a huge problem, both inside and outside the US. In the US, intersex genital mutilation is still completely legal. 

☿  Most intersex people and organizations, as well as most LGBTQIAPN+ organizations, acknowledge the shared history and oppressions of intersex people and the greater queer community and include the letter “I” to invite us to participate in what has historically been our home. 

☿  Some intersex people do not wish to be considered LGBT+ for being intersex, preferring to think of their intersex status as a medical condition, with more in common with disability activism than gender activism. These people, however, should never be used as “proof” that intersex people are ”not really queer.”

☿  While intersex people can identify as cisgender, and by extension identify as cishet, it is generally accepted that intersex people are not protected by or prioritized under cisheteronormativity. For this reason, many intersex activists prefer the use of “ipsogender” rather than “cisgender” to refer to intersex people who continue to identify with their forced gender assignment. 

☿  Gender and sexual normativity are the root cause of almost all the violence that intersex people face, both medically and socially. 

☿  Intersex people often use Mercury’s astrological symbol to refer to our gender, similar to the use of the venus symbol for women, and the mars symbol for men. Rarely, intersex people use the astrological symbol for earth instead.

☿  There are two popular intersex flags. The more widely accepted flag was designed by an intersex advocacy organization in Australia, for global use by the entire intersex population. It is a yellow field with a centered purple ring. Less commonly, a flag based on the more common trans flag is used, featuring six stripes: purple, white, blue, pink, white and purple. The blue and pink stripes are blended into a blue-pink gradient. 

☿  The white stripe in the trans flag is for transitioning, nonbinary, genderless and intersex people. The separation of the intersex and trans community is very novel. As late as 2000, when the trans flag was popularized, intersex people were considered part of the trans community. 

For pride this year, let’s all remember our intersex siblings in the queer community. 

Intersex people are here, queer, and proud.