The Intersexion with Chris M. Arnone

Stop me if you’ve heard this one.

I was born with no genitals, as gendered as a Ken or Barbie doll. In 1980 in Independence, Missouri, I was lucky. Some children born in similar circumstances were saddled with doctors who decided the sex of the baby right then and there, committing children to surgeries that would later ruin their lives. Rather than making a rash decision, my doctors drew blood to perform a chromosome test. They made a small incision and inserted a catheter so that I could urinate. Before I could form a sentence or a memory, my parents were beside themselves with worry. No one understood what was happening. Was I a boy or a girl? The idea of “nonbinary” or “intersex” were far from the national conversation, let alone this Kansas City suburb. For three days, my name was Baby. Then the test came in: XY. A boy. But my journey as an intersex person had only begun.

If you’re familiar with me or my work, you may have heard or read a variation of this story. My published poetry is either about bad dads or my experiences growing up intersex. Many of my recent social media videos have been about my journey losing both of my testicles and my new testosterone journey. TLDR: I have a lot to say on this subject.

I’m not the only one.

But our stories are being erased. Intersex people are being erased.

Not physically. Not yet, at least. But the current US president’s executive order about “gender ideology” erases intersex people from the national conversation. The text of the order doesn’t specifically name intersex people except for rescinding the document, “Supporting Intersex Students: A Resource for Students, Families, and Educators.”

Why is this? Because our very existence undermines their entire argument. The verbiage from the order states, “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”

But intersex people exist. We are those who are biologically not aligned with male or female to exclusion. For me, I was not born with a penis or descended testicles. I was also not born with a vagina or ovaries. Some intersex people have conditions that don’t align their chromosomes with their visible biological sex. So, the current regime must erase and ignore us in order to make their argument.

This erasure goes beyond those in power who are trying to erase intersex, transgender, and nonbinary people, though. I’ve begun this newsletter particularly because so many people who are against this erasure are also excluding intersex people from the argument. I don’t think it’s malicious, but rather a result of ignorance. I aim to fix that.

Not only am I delivering this newsletter to your inboxes every other week, but I’ll be releasing them as a podcast. Also on my Substack, you’ll find links to Intersex Resources and Intersex in the News.

What’s more, this content will never be behind a paywall. The information is too important. Our existence is too important. So please, spread the word. Get people to subscribe. Don’t let intersex people be erased.