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I'll admit it. (although as soon you mentionthe two different groups, I can see where there might be differences and problems)

How does the law deal with the two different groups?  are intersex people classified as one or the other at birth? and when they grow up are they allowed to change? and how are their marriage rights dealt with? (and how does their existence affect the legal arguments for gay and trans marriage rights?)

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Mon Nov 3rd, 2008 at 01:32:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
the law only recognises two genders and so you are defined as one or the other. So that suits people like me who now have the legal right to be recognised completely in my acquired gender.

However intersex people suffer cos they are given forced assignments, which includes surgical intervention on young children to make them conform. There is increasing understanding of the intersex condition nowadays and it is more likely that they will wait until the child themself expresses a preference, but forced assignments still occur too frequently.

So they have that burden. However the bigger ongoing  problem for them is that many really don't identify strongly enough in the binary. In their head they're kind of in-between which gives them issues in their legal status. They really don't know how to conform and have days when they're femme and days when they're guy and an awful lot of days when they don't want to shave but dress as a woman etc etc. Consequently they have problems with employment cos they don't fit in.

I confess I really don't know too much about it as I've only ever met a couple and didn't talk to them about it in depth, but the general impression I got was of being genuinely confused, like they didn't fit anywhere. They only really seem comfortable in each other's company cos they're the only ones who remotely understand.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Nov 3rd, 2008 at 02:27:41 PM EST
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