The conversation is between Matthew and Jahni, two individuals who discover they attended the same middle and high school. Jahni, who is intersex, shares their experiences and thoughts on being intersex. They define intersex as an umbrella term for people with bodily variations, including chromosomes, genitalia, and hormones. Jahni mentions having partial androgen insensitivity syndrome, which affects their body's ability to uptake testosterone.
Jahni discusses their childhood, feeling like an androgynous kid, and being forced to hide their true self. They share their experiences with sex work, being fetishized, and the challenges of navigating public restrooms. Jahni also talks about their preferences for women's restrooms and their attraction to people with masculine energy.
The conversation touches on the goals of the intersex community, including ending non-consensual surgeries and increasing social education. Jahni highlights the importance of intersex representation and the need for more funding and support.
Matthew, who has Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), relates to Jahni's experiences and notes the similarities between PCOS and intersex traits. Jahni points out that PCOS is being debated as a potential intersex trait due to its effects on hormones and reproduction.
The conversation concludes with Jahni discussing the common mistakes people make when interacting with intersex individuals, the importance of understanding the difference between gender identity and biological sex, and the things they love about being intersex, including the freedom to challenge people's perspectives and embody multiple categories.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The speaker was born with ambiguous genitalia.
2. The speaker had a penis and a pseudo vagina opening at birth.
3. The speaker's pseudo vagina opening was closed through surgery when they were younger.
4. The speaker identifies as a boy.
5. Intersex is an umbrella term that explains the lived experiences of people with bodily variations.
6. Bodily variations can include chromosomes, genitalia, and hormones.
7. There are approximately 40 different intersex traits.
8. The speaker uses she/her and they/them pronouns.
9. The speaker was diagnosed with partial androgen insensitivity syndrome at the age of 18.
10. The speaker's body cannot uptake and receive testosterone signals in the same way as others.
11. The speaker's voice did not drop during puberty.
12. The speaker has limited body hair.
13. The speaker grew breasts at the age of 10.
14. The speaker has not changed anything about their body.
15. The speaker is considering gender-affirming surgery and vaginoplasty.
16. The speaker's parents did not educate them about being intersex.
17. The speaker did not know they were intersex until after high school.
18. The speaker has been fetishized for being intersex.
19. The speaker did sex work and tailored themselves to a fetish.
20. The intersex community is working to end non-consensual intersex surgeries.
21. The intersex community is working to improve social education and awareness.
22. Some doctors do not know what intersex means.
23. Doctors have blacked out people's records to hide their intersex traits.
24. Intersex people get the least funding out of the whole LGBTQ community.
25. The speaker believes that gender politics are becoming trendy.
26. The speaker believes that well-meaning people often confuse trans and intersex issues.
27. The speaker loves being intersex because it challenges people's perspectives and allows them to embody multiple categories.