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The Intersex Pride Flag, designed in 2013 by Morgan Carpenter, features a solid yellow background with a central purple circle. The colors were chosen for their neutrality, avoiding traditional gender associations, while the unbroken circle symbolizes wholeness, autonomy, and the right of intersex people to make decisions about their own bodies. This flag represents visibility, dignity, and the fight against unnecessary medical interventions, serving as a unifying emblem for the intersex community worldwide.

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Intersex Response to Binary Gender Claims

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Intersex Response to Binary Gender Claims

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This meme challenges the assertion that only two genders exist by using humor to highlight the existence of intersex people. The top text presents a rigid statement about gender, while the GIF reaction—someone looking confused or dismissive—symbolizes how such statements ignore biological and gender diversity.

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This video from ABC Science’s Listen Up shares the story of a woman who discovered she was intersex at age 21. She talks about the confusion, secrecy, and emotions that came with the late diagnosis. The story highlights the need for better awareness, openness, and support for intersex people.

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This ISNA page explains that intersex people are born with physical traits that don’t fit typical male or female definitions. These traits can involve anatomy, chromosomes, or hormones, and may be noticed at birth or later in life. It also notes that society’s ideas about sex are shaped by culture, and calls for openness and an end to non-consensual medical surgeries.

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Intersex is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. For example, a person might be born appearing to be female on the outside, but having mostly male-typical anatomy on the inside. Or a person may be born with genitals that seem to be in-between the usual male and female types-for example, a girl may be born with a noticeably large clitoris, or lacking a vaginal opening, or a boy may be born with a notably small penis, or with a scrotum that is divided so that it has formed more like labia. Or a person may be born with mosaic genetics, so that some of her cells have XX chromosomes and some of them have XY.

Though we speak of intersex as an inborn condition, intersex anatomy doesn't always show up at birth. Sometimes a person isn't found to have intersex anatomy until she or he reaches the age of puberty, or finds himself an infertile adult, or dies of old age and is autopsied. Some people live and die with intersex anatomy without anyone (including themselves) ever knowing.

Which variations of sexual anatomy count as intersex? In practice, different people have different answers to that question. That's not surprising, because intersex isn't a discreet or natural category.

What does this mean? Intersex is a socially constructed category that reflects real biological variation. To better explain this, we can liken the sex spectrum to the color spectrum. There's no question that in nature there are different wavelengths that translate into colors most of us see as red, blue, orange, yellow. But the decision to distinguish, say, between orange and red-orange is made only when we need it-like when we're asking for a particular paint color. Sometimes social necessity leads us to make color distinctions that otherwise would seem incorrect or irrational, as, for instance, when we call certain people "black" or "white" when they're not especially black or white as we would otherwise use the terms.

In the same way, nature presents us with sex anatomy spectrums. Breasts, penises, clitorises, scrotums, labia, gonads-all of these vary in size and shape and morphology. So-called "sex" chromosomes can vary quite a bit, too. But in human cultures, sex categories get simplified into male, female, and sometimes intersex, in order to simplify social interactions, express what we know and feel, and maintain order.

So nature doesn't decide where the category of "male" ends and the category of "intersex" begins, or where the category of "intersex" ends and the category of "female" begins. Humans decide. Humans (today, typically doctors) decide how small a penis has to be, or how unusual a combination of parts has to be, before it counts as intersex. Humans decide whether a person with XXY chromosomes or XY chromosomes and androgen insensitivity will count as intersex.

In our work, we find that doctors' opinions about what should count as "intersex" vary substantially. Some think you have to have "ambiguous genitalia" to count as intersex, even if your inside is mostly of one sex and your outside is mostly of another. Some think your brain has to be exposed to an unusual mix of hormones prenatally to count as intersex-so that even if you're born with atypical genitalia, you're not intersex unless your brain experienced atypical development. And some think you have to have both ovarian and testicular tissue to count as intersex.

Rather than trying to play a semantic game that never ends, we at ISNA take a pragmatic approach to the question of who counts as intersex. We work to build a world free of shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries for anyone born with what someone believes to be non-standard sexual anatomy.

By the way, because some forms of intersex signal underlying metabolic concerns, a person who thinks she or he might be intersex should seek a diagnosis and find out if she or he needs professional healthcare.

If you're curious about how common intersex conditions are, go to the FAQ called How common is intersex?

Building a world free of shame, secrecy, and unwanted sexual surgeries since 1993
Copyright © ISNA 1993-2008

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What is intersex? | Intersex Society of North America

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Intersex is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. For example, a person might be born appearing to be female on the outside, but having mostly male-typical anatomy on the inside.

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This Instagram Reel shares a personal message about seeing being intersex as a gift. The speaker reflects on past pain but compares it to the sacrifice of Jesus, finding strength and meaning through faith. It delivers a mix of vulnerability, empowerment, and pride in their identity.

Ask ChatGPT

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Mrs.Morgan Aaliyah Willams✨🇭🇹🇩🇴 on Instagram: "Being intersex is my biggest blessing.
Life isn’t easy and everyday I have to remind myself that I am fearfully and wonderfully made and God made no mistakes on me. My purpose is to be authentically myself and allow God to flow throw me like living water to touch the people he needs me to touch and to inspire people to walk with Jesus in their hearts. My pain and suffering hurt deeply but it was nothing compared to what Jesus went through for us on the cross. My story is still being written and now I have a God sent life long husband that loves me unconditionally. One day we will be parents again and no we don’t have the reasons why it wasn’t this time. But because we are still hear and because we Hear God so clearly. We know that our time to be fruitful and to create our own bloodline is coming. This just God first breaking the Generational curses that he called for us to break. ❤️"

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17K likes, 296 comments - morgan.aaliyah_ on August 22, 2024: "Being intersex is my biggest blessing.
Life isn’t easy and everyday I have to remind myself that I am fearfully and wonderfully made and God made no mistakes on me. My purpose is to be authentically myself and allow God to flow throw me like living water to touch the people he needs me to touch and to inspire people to walk with Jesus in their hearts. My pain and suffering hurt deeply but it was nothing compared to what Jesus went through for us on the cross. My story is still being written and now I have a God sent life long husband that loves me unconditionally. One day we will be parents again and no we don’t have the reasons why it wasn’t this time. But because we are still hear and because we Hear God so clearly. We know that our time to be fruitful and to create our own bloodline is coming. This just God first breaking the Generational curses that he called for us to break. ❤️". 

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View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mrs.Morgan Aaliyah Willams✨🇭🇹🇩🇴 (@morgan.aaliyah_)

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This short animation shows a boy and girl neon sign slowly coming together to form the intersex symbol. The glowing purple light and smooth motion show how different parts of gender can exist in one person. It’s a simple but powerful way to show what being intersex means—being born with traits of both male and female. The image reminds us that identity isn't always just one or the other.

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Caster Semenya: Power and Pride as an Intersex Athlete

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Caster Semenya: Power and Pride as an Intersex Athlete

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This photo shows Caster Semenya preparing to race at the Meeting de Paris. She is an intersex athlete, meaning she was born with natural traits that don’t fit typical definitions of male or female. Because of this, she has faced rules that try to limit her from competing unless she changes her body. Her strong and calm look shows her pride and determination to keep running and fighting for fair treatment.

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In this TED Talk, Susannah Temko explains what it means to be intersex—born with traits that don’t fit typical male or female categories. She shares how intersex people often face secrecy, shame, and surgeries done without consent. Temko calls for visibility, respect, and the right for intersex people to make their own choices about their bodies.

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What it means to be intersex | Susannah Temko

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This interACT page explains that intersex people are born with natural body differences in chromosomes, hormones, or anatomy that don’t fit typical male or female categories. It clears up common myths and explains why harmful terms shouldn’t be used. The page also speaks out against non-consensual surgeries, stressing the importance of choice and bodily autonomy.

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What is Intersex? Frequently Asked Questions

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What is intersex? What does an intersex person look like, and how can intersex people find community? Find answers to common questions.

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This image promotes Intersex Awareness Day, a yearly event on October 26 that supports the rights and voices of intersex people. The yellow and purple colors come from the intersex flag. It encourages visibility, education, and equality for the intersex community.