Specific to Medical Term

This section hosts articles grouped by intersex variation, per medical terms.

Not all intersex people have a medical diagnosis or prefer medicalized language at all. It can still be helpful to some people to connect according to medical diagnosis—for example, to compare experiences about their bodies and feel less alone.

I Want to Pop Up When You Google POR Deficiency

September 30th, 2024|

Courtney Felle (they/them) is a 2024 interACT Youth Cohort Member and a current PhD Student in Disability Studies and Writing, Rhetoric, and Literacy at the Ohio State University. They are passionate about disability theory, creative writing, fiber arts, and bad reality TV—and constantly angry about diagnostic injustice. Find them on Instagram via @courtneyfelle.

I’m A Man with MRKH

July 30th, 2024|

Apollo grew up with a variation in sex traits typically associated with women — MRKH — but knew he was a man. At times, his intersex variation was a relief. At others, being one of the only men with MRKH was profoundly isolating. But MRKH is a part of him, and he loves it.

  • Is MRKH intersex? Illustration shows a person with medium-length hair in a baggy sweater reaching for floating puzzle pieces in the nearby air. The person also has puzzle piece shapes cut out from their body.

Is MRKH Intersex? Ask a Different Question Instead

October 4th, 2020|

Are people with MRKH—with mostly typical sex anatomy but born without a uterus and/or parts of the vagina—considered intersex? To get anywhere, we need to be asking completely different questions. By Maddie Rose     As a teen newly navigating dating and sexuality, I received news that turned my world upside-down: a diagnosis of Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser

  • Illustration on surgery and congenital adrenal hyperplasia - a scalpel cuts along a dotted line, between one shape on the left that is a tangled pile of string, and another shape on the right that is an untangled string.

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Surgery: A Mom and Nurse Busts 5 Myths

July 8th, 2020|

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia is one of the most common medical terms associated with intersex genital differences. A mom and nurse sits down with an intersex advocate to uncover common misconceptions around genital surgery. By Hans Lindahl and Stephani Lohman   ALSO AVAILABLE IN SPANISH! "Una mamá y enfermera desmiente 5 mitos sobre la cirugía genital

  • Five intersex people with congenital adrenal hyperplasia: Allie, Jubi, Mari, Bria, and Sophia

5 Intersex People on Growing Up with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

June 12th, 2020|

June is CAH Awareness Month. Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia is the medical term given to one of the most common intersex conditions. We talked to five young people about their experiences with CAH, adrenal crisis, and growing up with intersex bodies. By Bria Brown-King   This essay is also available in Spanish, thanks to the translation

  • Glamour Photo of Jackie Green for Intersex Advocacy

Accepting Myself as an Intersex Woman

March 22nd, 2017|

My name is Jackie Green and for as long as I can remember my biggest fear in life was that someone would find out that I had XY chromosomes - a fact about me that you can’t see, feel, or sense in any way.  Yet I still found myself afraid of what others would think

A Conversation with David Strachan, Intersex and Non-binary Pioneer

March 8th, 2017|

A Conversation with David Strachan, Intersex and Non-binary Pioneer by Hans Lindahl, interACT Member   I sat down with David Cameron Strachan to reflect on intersex and LGBTQ history, the meaning of “non-binary” gender, and a recent court victory—The San Francisco Superior Court granted David’s petition for non-binary gender markers** last Wednesday. He is now

What Would I Have Been Like?

February 20th, 2017|

What Would I Have Been Like? Examining hidden preconceptions & perils of the Intersex Experience (#1) by Karen Walsh This question has morphed quite a bit over the years for me. It went from common little girl fantasies of being a traditional Mom & wife, through imagining what I’d be like if I didn’t have Complete

My name is Robyn, and just like Lauren Cooper, I am also intersex.

April 7th, 2016|

MTV has done an amazing thing recently by adding an intersex character to "Faking It!" In said program, the character Lauren Cooper (portrayed by Bailey De Young) has Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. This means that she has XY chromosomes, developed as female, and her body no longer produces hormones so she takes estrogen pills.

This Is A Custom Widget

This Sliding Bar can be switched on or off in theme options, and can take any widget you throw at it or even fill it with your custom HTML Code. Its perfect for grabbing the attention of your viewers. Choose between 1, 2, 3 or 4 columns, set the background color, widget divider color, activate transparency, a top border or fully disable it on desktop and mobile.

This Is A Custom Widget

This Sliding Bar can be switched on or off in theme options, and can take any widget you throw at it or even fill it with your custom HTML Code. Its perfect for grabbing the attention of your viewers. Choose between 1, 2, 3 or 4 columns, set the background color, widget divider color, activate transparency, a top border or fully disable it on desktop and mobile.