Category Archives: Support Groups

Intersex Support Groups

Central To My Humanity?

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A Christian friend recently suggested that being male or female is central to our humanity. He’s not the first one to do so.

God created mankind in His own image. Male and female He created us. Whether we’re male, female, or some combination of the two, we bear His image. A number of animal species are sexed in a way similar to humans and yet were not created in God’s image.

Adam and Eve sinned and were thrown out of the Garden of Eden. The result was disastrous for all of creation, but especially for us as fallen human beings. For Adam’s race—fallen humanity—the inability to do what we know is right is also central to our being. Our hearts are deceitfully wicked. Yet we still bear God’s image.

Jesus became like us. He took on our humanity. He became sin for us. He is not only our Redeemer, but our Kinsman. He died not for the angels, but to save those whom the Father had given Him. Us. Humans. That is surely more important to our humanity than the sex of our body. And we shall one day be more like Him. In bodies that do not reproduce.

This friend also suggested that intersex people are ‘already’ male or female, based on where God aimed His arrow, rather than where it struck. On what we might have been in the Garden of Eden, rather than on the body that God knit together in our mother’s womb.

My friend uses the potential for giving DNA or receiving DNA as God’s decree. Others say sperm or ova. Or the presence of a Y chromosome. Or the overall shape of the genitals at birth. In each case, they ignore the complexity of sex differentiation.

The result is often that we who are intersex are sometimes expected to be a sex that we’re not. No matter what the doctors do to my body, it’s not going to become male or female. Yes, I live as though my body were female. But I do so by God’s grace rather than by checking off all of the boxes.

Is intersex central to my identity? To my being? To my humanity? No. There is no special place or identity for intersex people in this country. Nor do I desire one. I’m content to live as a woman.

I write this—not because intersex is central to my humanity—but in response to one more Christian friend who thinks there can only be male and female, and isn’t shy about telling intersex people what their true sex ought to be based on.

The person I might have been had Adam never sinned doesn’t change the reality of my body or my gender. I am a part of the bride of Christ. I am a member of his body. As one who is being redeemed, Christ is central to who I am.

Yes, the Bible provides some distinct guidance based on our sex. And most people are born unambiguously male or female. It is good for a man and a woman to marry and produce Godly offspring. Not all can. And some choose otherwise for the sake of the Kingdom.

In the end, my Kinsman Redeemer will stand upon my grave. Mine. Even though my flesh has rotted away, I will see Him with my own eyes. Me and not another. Jesus knows me. I belong to Him.

My friend, I suggest to you that nothing matters more to our humanity than our relationship with the God who created us in His image. Nothing. Certainly not what sex we are.

You’re Invited!

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You’re invited to a screening of the documentary Stories of Intersex and Faith on October 26th, which is Intersex Awareness Day. The time? 7:00PM CDT.

The eye-opening documentary explores the unique medical, religious, and social barriers that intersex people continue to face today. Through sharing the stories of five intersex people, Stories of Intersex and Faith ultimately helps viewers enter a more constructive conversation on one of the most divisive issues facing not only faith communities, but society as a whole.

While the medical community seeks to “fix” intersex children, many religious communities struggle to understand how intersex people fit into their male/female binary. Yet, these five remarkable stories reveal how some intersex people find healing and hope in their religious faith.

Together they insist, “It’s society that needs to be healed, not us.”

The screening will be followed byStories of Intersex and Faith followed by a panel discussion with Megan Shannon DeFranza, Lianne Simon, Marissa Adams, and Arlene B. Baratz.

Date: OCTOBER 26, 2020, Time: 7:00 p.m. CDT

Reserve your seat: REGISTER HERE

Join us on Intersex Awareness Day for a free, virtual screening of Stories of Intersex and Faith followed by a panel discussion with Megan Shannon DeFranza, Lianne Simon, Marissa Adams, and Arlene B. Baratz.

This event is sponsored by:

  • Carpenter Program in Religion, Gender, and Sexuality at Vanderbilt Divinity School
  • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Life at Vanderbilt University
  • Religion in the Arts and Contemporary Culture at Vanderbilt Divinity School
  • Vanderbilt LGBT Policy Lab
  • Vanderbilt School of Nursing.

Stories of Intersex and Faith is a partner project that CMAC Research Associate Megan Shannon DeFranza spear-headed while working on the Sex Differences project.

A Letter to my PCA Pastor

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pcans

#NashvilleStatement #PCAGA

Rob,

Last night, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America passed Overture 4, by which they endorsed the Nashville Statement, a document written by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

Article VI of the Nashville Statement says that those born with a “physical disorder of sex development” (i.e. intersex),

“should embrace their biological sex insofar as it may be known.”

Article V states, in part,

“We deny that physical anomalies or psychological conditions nullify the God-appointed link between biological sex and self-conception as male or female.”

If self-conception (i.e. gender identity) can play no role, then how does one determine which sex an intersex person is to embrace?

Dr. Denny Burk, the president of CBMW, and one of the primary authors of the Nashville Statement, reduces sex to the presence or absence of a Y chromosome,

dennyBurk1

dennyBurkAIS

An infant with Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome is born with female external genitalia and has testes in her abdomen, which, if left in place, will give her a feminizing puberty. She could live her entire life without knowing she has XY chromosomes. How is it Biblical to consider her male rather than a barren woman?

Medical studies suggest that the most reliable way of determining the gender of an intersex child is to wait until they’re old enough to speak and then ask them. Historically, the Church expected intersex people, when old enough, to choose either male or female. That’s what I did. My body’s intersex. I have Mixed Gonadal Dysgenesis. I was born with a mix of ovarian and testicular tissue. But some of my cells have a Y chromosome, so Dr. Burk, CBMW, the Nashville Statement—and perhaps now the PCA—would consider me male.

I’ve met hundreds of people with differences of sex development. Understand this—your Nashville Statement drives intersex people away from the Gospel. Historically, doctors have castrated us, surgically assigned us a sex, given us hormones, told us lies, kept secrets from us, and caused us to live in shame—all in the name of your precious binary vision of sex. When you say that we should embrace our sex insofar as it may be known, what we hear is that you approve of the things being done to us to coerce our bodies and our genders.

The PCA General Assembly also passed Overture 42, which establishes a study committee on sexuality. The PCA could clarify their stand on intersex and distance themselves from the approach taken by CBMW. It is rare, however, for Christians who issue pronouncements regarding intersex to actually listen to us before they speak.

If you discover that the reason your teenage daughter hasn’t gotten her period yet is that she has testes in her abdomen rather than ovaries and uterus, will your church insist that she’s really male? Often, the most serious issue for parents isn’t having a child whose sex is ambiguous; it’s maintaining a relationship with a church that doesn’t understand the issues they face.

Intersex and Faith’s mission is to help communities of faith minister to those born with a body outside the male-female binary. Our documentary, Stories of Intersex and Faith addresses how some people reconcile their faith with having a body that’s not entirely male or female. Our small-group curriculum is in beta test.

What if the doctors aren’t sure whether your newborn is male or female? Then contact us. We’ll help you find other parents of similar faith who also have an intersex child.

Rather than suggesting that an intersex child’s sex or gender be coerced based on the presence or absence of a Y chromosome, why not join us in helping those with a difference of sex development to thrive within the PCA?

I’m female in the eyes of God’s law. I hope to remain in good standing with Faith Presbyterian and the PCA.

Thank you,

Lianne Simon

Barren Women and the Nashville Statement

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nashvilleIntersex & Faith, Inc. recently completed a survey of more than 100 of the signatories of the Nashville Statement, asking for clarification of Article 6, especially the call for intersex people to, “embrace their biological sex insofar as it may be known.”

Historically, doctors have castrated us, surgically assigned us a sex, given us hormones, told us lies, kept secrets from us, and caused us to live in shame—all in the name of their binary vision of sex. So it was easy for some of us to conclude that Article 6 called on us to embrace the evil being done to us.

None of the signatories who responded agreed with that reading. None appeared to be in favor of childhood genital surgeries. In fact, Dr. Denny Burk, one of the architects of the Nashville Statement, opposes them.

Regarding the treatment of intersex cases, we received a variety of replies. Most either said they didn’t have enough experience with intersex, or that individual cases merited deeper consideration than a set of rules would allow.

The largest group, however, referred us to the writings of Dr. Denny Burk, who appears to reduce the diversity of biological sex to the presence or absence of a Y chromosome.

We included a short questionnaire with our survey. It’s available online here. The first question deals with Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome:

“Your sixteen-year-old daughter Connie’s a godly young woman. She’s healthy but never got her period. A specialist says that she has Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. Although externally she’s a typical female, she has XY chromosomes, and testes in her abdomen rather than ovaries and uterus.”

Dr. Denny Burk, on his website (about halfway down the page in the comment section) addresses AIS:

“With AIS, there is an XY chromosomal make-up and the internal organs are still male. It is the external reproductive features that are malformed. This is a tragic, difficult condition, and those who experience it are in need of our compassion, love, and understanding. But that doesn’t preclude us from helping them see that they are essentially male in spite of ambiguities in external features.”

In his book, What is the Meaning of Sex?, on page 81, Dr. Burk appears to suggest that anyone born with a vagina but with XY chromosomes should be considered male.

“Try to determine as soon as possible the chromosomal makeup of the child. If there is a Y chromosome present, that would strongly militate against raising the child as a female, regardless of the apperance of the genitals or other secondary sex characteristics.”

This is certainly different than the commonly-accepted Biblical view or the historical view of the Church regarding how to determine a person’s sex. The Bible would consider a woman with CAIS to be female.

Barren women are usually infertile for biological reasons. Often, that is an intersex condition such as Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. It is only recently that the technology became available to determine karyotype (e.g. XX or XY).

A woman with Swyer Syndrome would have a functional vagina and uterus, but no gonads (or penis). Using IVF and a donor egg, some have carried a baby to term. Yet it appears that Dr. Burk–and some of the signatories of the Nashville Statement–would still consider her male because she has a Y chromosome. Again, the Bible would consider her female–a barren woman.

With the continuing debate over the ethics of transgender treatment, I’m astounded that any conservative Christians would take the position that someone born with a vagina and no penis is male, regardless of their genetics.

If you’re a Christian, and your child is intersex, please contact Intersex & Faith.

liannesimon at yahoo dot com

A Few Intersex Websites

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During a recent interview with Dr. Michael Brown, I promised to post a few links to websites with information about intersex.

AIS-DSD — An intersex support group
interACT — Advocates for intersex youth
The Interface Project — Stories of people born with intersex traits
IntersexAndFaith — Intersex & Faith — sharing stories of intersex and faith
Intersex Society of North America — The original activist group
IntersexUK — An intersex group in the UK
OII — Organization Intersex International
Succeed Clinic — The OU DSD Clinic

The Reformation Project

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“The Reformation Project is a Bible-based, Christian direct action organization that works to promote inclusion of LGBT people by reforming church teaching on sexual orientation and gender identity. We envision a global church that fully affirms LGBT people.” — from the Reformation Project website.

I’m a Christian housewife. My husband and I belong to what most would consider a conservative church. I’m also intersex; my body isn’t completely female or male.

For a time, I was raised as a boy. And it was during that period in my life that a young man shared the Gospel with me. He could have condemned me for not being masculine enough. Or for being attracted to boys. Or for wearing dresses. Instead, he encouraged me toward a childlike faith in Christ.

I spent about a decade answering inquiries on behalf of a support group for the parents of children born with Mixed Gonadal Dysgenesis—an intersex condition very similar to mine. I learned then that a large minority—if not a majority—of the parents of intersex children are conservative. And they are the audience I had in mind when I started sharing my story. It’s them I hope to persuade to preserve their children’s options. To avoid unnecessary medical treatment. And to support their children when the Church doesn’t.

I have chosen—for the sake of intersex children—to remain outside the debates over LGBT issues. I will say simply that my Lord has called me to love without hesitation. There are enough people willing to argue the doctrinal points.

#Intersex—Disclosure and Blowback

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Photo courtesy James Westenbroek

Photo courtesy James Westenbroek

Male, Female, and Intersex in the Image of God
Thursday evening, Megan DeFranza and I spoke at Calvin College as a part of their Sexuality Series. The presentation was LiveStreamed and is available here(presentation) and here(Q&A).

Several people commented on how brave I was to share my story, but I don’t wish to mislead anyone—I’m not. Bravery involves a readiness to face danger and pain.

I doubt I’ll ever be a match for the emotional turmoil involved in talking about personal experience with intersex. Even though I never had to suffer unwanted medical interventions. If I were brave, I’d stand in front of you with my shields lowered as I disclosed my heart.

At some level, though, I can’t bear to face it all, so instead, I dissociate. I box up all the unpleasantness and let it bleed out after everyone’s gone (excepting perhaps my husband).  That’s what I hide when I’m on stage or in front of a classroom.

Therapy. Yes. If I had the time. And the money. And could place enough trust in the medical profession.

Fortunately, I have a Redeemer who loves me and doesn’t mind my curling up on his lap. I don’t have to be a mature adult for Jesus, you know. I simply have to admit my need of him.

And He’s why I seek transparency. Why I sign  up for a speaking engagement when I know the cost may be brutal. Why I risk offending both my intersex and my Christian friends. (‘Cause I know I’ll get some of the details wrong. Forget where that quote in Isaiah is.)

Secrecy—the first pillar of intersex treatment. Unfortunately, many in the Church remain unaware of the existence of those who don’t fit into their neat male-female binary.

Surgery—the second pillar. Without consent. Without full disclosure. To erase intersex.

Shame—the third pillar. Because there’s something so horrible about our bodies that we can’t even talk about them.

What chance has an intersex child against the  organized might of the medical profession and the complicity of society in general?

Christians need to help. And that doesn’t mean telling people who are different they’re going to hell. It means caring enough to put an end to the mistreatment of those born outside the binary. It means welcoming us in the open. And without shame.

Thank you, Julia Smith, Program Coordinator at Student Life and Director of the Sexuality Series at Calvin College for inviting Megan and me to speak and for watching over us during our stay.

Thank you, Elisha Marr, Assistant Professor of Sociology—and your students—for your time and polite questions.

Thank you, SAGA (Sexuality and Gender Awareness) for welcoming us to the campus. And for the cool T-shirts!

And, thank  you Calvin College, for your hospitality.

 

 

 

 

Intersex—A Day In The Life

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ls6At support group meetings and seminars, I’ve met hundreds of people who have some physical difference of sex development. Intersex, if you will. I don’t even mind the word hermaphrodite when applied to me. Whatever.

There are hundreds of things that can happen during sex differentiation and development. Some of the variations are grouped into syndromes named after the practitioner who ‘discovered’ them—Swyer, Turner, Klinefelter. Some have names a bit more descriptive—Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, Mixed Gonadal Dysgenesis, Androgen Insensitivity.

What I’ve never seen, however, is a condition that results in someone having both sets of genitals. Why? Because the same bit of tissue that becomes a penis in a typical male becomes a clitoris in a female. Another bit of flesh becomes labia or scrotum. Want to know what intersex bits really look like? The Quigley Scale is used for describing degrees of Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. The Prader Scale is used for Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia. This site has some illustrations of degrees of hypospadias. Those are the variations you find in most cases of intersex.

The condition I have is caused by having some cells with a Y chromosome and some without. That led to confusion during fetal development. Hence the differences—not just reproductive system, mind you, but heart, kidneys, brain, metacarpals, fingernails, eyes—everything.

I went to a new dentist today. One of the technicians commented on how small my jaw was. She was concerned that I might not be able to get the digital x-ray thing into my mouth. I explained that it was a genetic thing. I’m mosaic for Turner Syndrome. The condition resulted in micrognathia—a smaller than average jaw—which gave the lower half of my face female-typical proportions.

Which do you think had a greater impact?—a feminine face or genitals that weren’t quite right? The same medical condition—Disorder of Sex Development, if you must—caused both. And much more.

If you meet someone who has a difference of sex development, don’t be surprised if they’re not a two-headed monster. Or obsessed about sex. Or gender. Most of us aren’t. Really. We’re more like you than we are different.

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#intersex

 

The Problem With Intersex

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passport

Yesterday was Intersex Awareness Day, so it seemed appropriate that I spend part of the morning with a new gynecologist.

The previous one had rammed a one-size-fits-all speculum into me that arched my back up off the table in pain. The experience convinced me to take a hiatus from pelvic exams. Why did I need a stupid Pap smear, anyway, since I don’t have a cervix? That was three, perhaps four, years ago.

I like nurse practitioners. Most seem to remember that they are patient advocates. This new one had studied my records and done her homework regarding my condition. Without her ever mentioning intersex or DSD, she examined me, and we talked about things like lifelong hormone replacement therapy, and vaginal dilation, and post-surgical clitoral sensitivity. Like those things were commonplace.

As soon as my defenses reclassified her from suspect to friendly, I snapped into long-lost-intersex-friend mode. In such situations, something deep inside prompts me to talk endlessly about intersex, as though pushing the words out will make the pain go away. She smiled…and listened…and put a hand on my shoulder…and almost…almost made me feel okay with being in a doctor’s office.

Intersex isn’t about gender. It isn’t about sex. Or body differences. It’s about being treated as so alien that the gender, and sex, and body differences become the measure of our lives. Kudos to one nurse practitioner who gets what intersex awareness means.