Personal Comment

Personal opinions and comment by OII members

Our true faces – Why ask for help?

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Author: Marie-Noëlle Baechler, OII Switzerland Year of first publication: 2006 Translation: Curtis E. Hinkle, from the French original Disclaimer: The following is written within a Swiss legal and medical context and may not apply to laws in different states in the United States or in other countries. This is provided as a service to those…
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From Pakistan to the USA and the International Olympics Committee, Intersex People are Treated as Less or Other than Human

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Author: Bhakti Ananda Goswami, board member, OII USA Date first published: March 10, 2010 Disclaimer: This article represents the views of its author and does not represent Organisation Intersex International policy nor that of its affiliates. The views of the author may well have changed since this article was written. “Some sociologists and legal experts…
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Disorders of Sex Development (DSD) conflates transsexualism with intersex variations

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Authors: Prof. M. Italiano, M.B.B.S. (A.M.), Advisor on intersex variations, Organisation Intersex International & Curtis E. Hinkle, Founder, Organisation Intersex International Article title in full: Open letter to Ieuan Hughes et al, 2007: Disorders of Sex Development (DSD) conflates transsexualism with intersex variations Year of first publication: 2007 Disclaimer: This article represents the views of its author and does…
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Being Different and Fitting In

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Author: David Cameron Year of first publication: 2006 About David Cameron: David Cameron was born in Canada, and grew up in Pleasant Hill, California. He is a former international teacher, having taught in Thailand and Egypt. He met his partner, Peter Tannen, at a bisexual potluck in Sunnyvale. David had a home and garden renovation business…
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[Op/Ed] Characterizing people with XXY and similar karyotypes as male by default, or “disorders”, makes obvious intersex variations invisible

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[Op/Ed] Characterizing people with XXY and similar karyotypes as male by default, or “disorders”, makes obvious intersex variations invisible

I make the observation that the characterization of a person with XXY, or combinations thereof as described in this article, as male, makes invisible their obvious intersex. To see them as infertile males is an observation taken from a certain cultural perspective that considers intersex differences as somehow resolvable into actual maleness or femaleness. This…
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The Terminology of Intersex

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THERE are two fundamental issues that must be considered when considering terminology around intersex. Scientific nomenclature of intersex: INTERSEX is a scientific term that describes all differences of sex biology within the animal kingdom that are not hermaphroditic. Terminology such as “hermaphrodite”, “pseudo-hermaphrodite”, “disorders” and “conditions” have been used in some medical literature to describe…
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BBC News: “Man, 33, seeks puberty”

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“I feel an outsider, different to everyone else,” he said before the treatment. “People take going through puberty for granted; it’s just something that happens. For me it has just never happened.” Lawrence has Kallmann’s syndrome, a rare condition affecting predominantly men, but also women. A small area in the brain called the hypothalamus cannot…
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KFPA’s Pushing Limits: “Intersexuality”, April 2, 2010 at 2:30pm

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CURTIS Hinkle and Hida Viloria of OII USA appeared on KPFA’s Pushing Limits radio show on 2nd April 2010. They talked about what intersex and the disability movement have in common and what they do not. Curtis and Hida also discussed the South African female athlete Mokgadi Caster Semenya, the IOC (International Olympic Committee). the…
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