Friday, October 3, 2008

Intersex Information & Resources

"Wikipedia defines intersexuality as “a state of a living thing (where) sex chromosomes, genitalia, and/or secondary sex characteristics are determined to be neither exclusively male nor female. An organism with intersex may have biological characteristics of both the male and female sexes. Intersexuality is the term… applied to human beings who cannot be classified as either male or female. Intersexuality is also the word adopted by the identitiary-political movement, to criticize medical protocols in sex assignment and to claim the right to be heard in the construction of a new one.”

Online resources for intersexed persons include:

The Accord Alliance works to promote comprehensive and integrated approaches to care that enhance the health and well-being of people and families affected by disorders in sexual development (DSD) by fostering collaboration among all stakeholders. The Accord Alliance’s work is based on a consensus for a new paradigm of healthcare for people diagnosed with intersex conditions developed by 50 international experts and patient advocates in 2006.

OII–USA is the United States affiliate of the Organisation Intersex International, a non-profit organization incorporated in the Province of Quebec, Canada. OII is one the largest intersex organizations in the world with members representing almost all known intersex variations. It has members in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. OII–USA works for intersex visibility, opposes genital mutilation, medicalization and normalization without consent, and provides a forum on intersex lives and experience that highlights the richness and diversity of intersex identities and culture.

The Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) works to end shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries for people born with an anatomy that someone decided is not standard for male or female.

The MRKH Organization, Inc., supports women with Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser Syndrome. MRKH is also known as Mullerian Agenesis, Vaginal Agensis, and Congenital Absense of Vagina.

Intersextions Cafe offers user forums on intersex topics.

XXwhy.com is a blog with collection of articles, on Klinefelter Syndrome, a term used to describe males who have an extra X chromosome in most of their cells. Instead of having the usual XY chromosome pattern that most males have, these men have an XXY pattern.

XYTurners is a website with a forum and articles on XY/XO mosaicism.

Do you know of another resource on intersex issues? Post a comment and tell us about it."

Crossposted via LifeonQ

2 comments:

OII: http://www.intersexualite.org/ said...

Thanks so much for including OII and Intersexions Café.

Kindest regards,
Curtis E. Hinkle, Founder of OII

Anonymous said...

Hi
I've recently finished a film about Adele, an amazing intersex person. Here's the link:

http://current.com/items/89405000_i_m_80_girl_20_boy

I am now making a full length film about intersex, including the stories of what is happening to the babies born visibly intersex and gender variant children as they grow up and approach puberty. There's currently still a debate in the medical community about how these young people should be treated. I'm seeking the input of doctors, parents, and of course, other intersex people in this project. If you would like to get in touch, my address is palya@hotmail.com.

Cheers, Maxx Ginnane (Director)

Post a Comment