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Laura Lam

10/13/11

Me, My Sex, and I

Boy, Girl, or Other?

Watch Me, My Sex, and I on BBC iPlayer

A few days ago, BBC aired one of the best documentaries on intersex or DSD (Disorders of Sexual Development) I’ve seen. Though not intersex myself, I’m invested in the cause for awareness and changing legislation after researching different aspects of DSDs for my novel.

Sex, like gender identity, is not a false dichotomy. It’s not XX or XY. A person can be X or XXY. Someone you would look at and swear is female and would identify as such might actually be genetically XY, and vice versa. There are a variety of DSDs that are a lot more common than one would think. As stated in the documentary, in a city the size of New York City, as many as 100,000 people could have DSD, ranging from minor hypospadias to 5-alpha reductase deficiency or androgen insensitivity syndrome.

Yet even though it’s more common that one would think, few people appear to know about it. Can you name an openly intersex celebrity, for instance?

The documentary was very well made and touching. I found myself tearing up several times while watching it. For many people born in the 1960s with DSD, surgery was the most common solution, even if the ambiguous genitalia functioned just fine. Parents were told that this surgery–which sometimes, due to complications, could become as many as twenty surgeries–was the best hope for their child to have a normal future. And so many parents agreed. Some call this gender mutilation, and several children were left essentially castrated, numbed and with health complications. Infant surgeries still happen today, though on the whole on a lesser basis, and I am against it unless there is a pressing medical need. It is not the parents’ body. It is not the doctor’s body. It’s the baby’s body, and the baby’s choice once he or she can make it.

Though the documentary did not shy away from the difficulties those with DSDs, overall it was hopeful. Their DSDs do not rule their lives; rather, it is a facet of who they are. It was wonderful for them to bravely share their different stories.

I could go on and on about this for ages. Please watch the documentary. It’s a good one.

If you’d like to learn more:

Intersex Society of North America (sadly defunct)

The UK Intersex Association

DSD Families  

Youtube also has some diaries of intersex people and snippets of other documentaries.

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Gender & Sexuality

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Comments

  1. Lee Collins says

    13th October 2011 at 6:52 pm

    If you haven’t already read it, I might suggest “Ring” by Koji Suzuki. It’s the book the films “Ringu” and “The Ring” are (loosely) based on, and it addresses some of the difficulties intersex people encounter.

    Reply
    • Laura Lam says

      13th October 2011 at 6:56 pm

      Thanks–I’ll take a look. :)

      Reply
  2. Heather Ross says

    19th October 2011 at 10:46 am

    Hi, I only caught some of this excellent documentary and can’t find it on iPlayer now. Does anyone have a transferrable recording of it, please? I am an Equality & Diversity Officer and want to refer to it in my work.

    Reply
    • Laura Lam says

      19th October 2011 at 10:21 pm

      I’m not sure where it could be found. It might be worth contacting the BBC and asking if they’ll re-air it.

      Reply
    • Fabian says

      25th October 2011 at 7:08 am

      I just watched it on here: http://www.iwannawatch.net/2011/10/me-my-sex-and-i-2011/

      I know it is probably a illegal copy but at least you can watch the whole of it.

      I hope it helps.

      Reply
  3. Justene Wilke says

    19th October 2011 at 5:07 pm

    I second the recommendation for “Ring” by Koji Suzuki, but also suggest reading the other books in the series “Spiral” and “Loop”. Another recommendation I have is “As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised As A Girl”. It’s not intersex per se, but does involve some of the same issues of gender identity vs. sexual characteristics (or lack of).

    Reply
  4. TANYA says

    19th October 2011 at 9:00 pm

    IS THERE ANY WAY OF ACCESSING THE DOCUMENTRARY ‘ME MY SEX AND I’ AS I CAN NOT ACCESS IT ON BBC IPLAYER AS IT HAS BEEN OVER SEVEN DAYS SINCE IT WAS AIRED

    Reply
    • TANYA says

      19th October 2011 at 9:02 pm

      I HAVE A 20 WEEK OLD DAUGHTER BORN VIA IVF WITH C.A.H AND I AM EAGER TO VIEW THIS DOCUMENTARY PLEASE HELP

      Reply
      • Laura Lam says

        19th October 2011 at 10:20 pm

        I’m afraid I don’t know where you could find it. Perhaps BBC will re-air it at some point? It might be worth contacting them.

        Reply
  5. Iddie says

    1st March 2012 at 12:01 pm

    DSD =/= intersex. Intersex conditions are chromosomal disorders, DSD is not. Minor DSD conditions like hypospadias are not intersex conditions.

    Reply
    • Laura Lam says

      1st March 2012 at 1:09 pm

      Intersex disorders fall under the umbrella term of DSD.

      Reply

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Laura Lam

I write like I'm running out of time
(Because I am. We all are.)

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