Here is a daily reminder that your body is beautiful and this world has space for everybody.
Today is Intersex Awareness Day, an international observance raising awareness of actions to protect the rights of intersex people.
Most of us consider ourselves male or female based on biological sex. However, reproductive or sexual anatomy doesn’t always fit the boxes of “female” or “male.” Intersex is a socially constructed category that reflects natural biological variation. And it does not always show up at birth, sometimes appearing at puberty, or finding infertility as an adult, or perhaps going wholly unnoticed. A part of the problem of the bi-polarization of sex into distinct categories is that it marginalizes natural biological diversity. And because nature is so wonderful in its diversity and science is so challenged, variations in reproductive and sexual anatomy mean that, in practice, different people have different answers to what defines male, female, or intersex categories. That’s not surprising because sex isn’t a discreet category. And for that matter, neither is gender.
To learn more about Intersex Awareness Day, watch this short video and the fabulous resources below.
interACT worked with Buzzfeed to create the “What it’s like to be intersex” video, which now has over 3 million views. It is a great introductory video for learning about being intersex. The video features interACT Youth members and has been used in workshops and trainings across the globe, including the United Nations.
To learn more about intersex people and issues, check out:
-InterACT Advocates for Intersex Youth: https://interactadvocates.org/intersex-awareness-day/
https://isna.org/faq/what_is_intersex/
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