The surprise of "his" life
Imagine that you’re curious to learn more about your family tree, and as millions have done, send a saliva sample to an ancestry company. However, instead of discovering your relatives’ countries of origin, you find out that the sex you’ve identified as your entire life is wrong. That’s just what happened to writer J. Ben Morton who got far more than he bargained for from his DNA analysis. A rep from the company told J., “...you completed your profile as ‘male.’ But your DNA appears to be female.”
A subsequent meeting with a geneticist brought a crash course in chromosomal anomalies for J. but also began to explain certain health issues, like consistently low testosterone levels and fatigue. Says J., “Now I had a reason why I didn’t fit the typical mold.”
Tremendous focus has been placed on the trans community in recent years and has fueled the nation’s division, but intersexuality is far less talked about. Intersex refers to people born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't fit the typical definitions of female or male. While sometimes identifiable at birth, a person may go years, or even decades like J., before learning their truth.
The trans community is in the Trump administration’s crosshairs, and intersex people could find themselves there as well. Executive orders that “decree” sex as binary will create discriminatory policies for both groups, like the inability to receive legal recognition or obtain health insurance.
Learn more in this fascinating and educational article from Huffpost.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/intersex-dna-test-results-gender-identity...
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Evangel
The arrogance and stubbornness of those who dismiss science is breathtaking. In their narrow view, the threat of one's "difference" must be crushed regardless. This then entitles them to be punitive toward anyone who lives authentically.
Faithville
You are correct and this truth is so very difficult to except, yet I see the trajectory that we are moving. Isolate, target, afflict cruelty and abuse,,,disgusting, We are better than this.
Evangel
Yes, we are. But there is always a minority that is not.
Slipstream
What a shock that must have been. I hope J. has a good support system that can help him navigate all that this discovery brings with it. It'll certainly make good writing material which will hopefully help others like J. Thanks for posting this article supporting the notion that things aren't always black or white.