Intersex

Disclaimer: People can experience identities in different ways. As such, people can identify with a label without exactly matching the definition because identities are fluid.

Intersex is an umbrella term that refers to people with sex characteristics and/or reproductive anatomy (genitalia, gonads, internal anatomy, hormones, and/or chromosomes) that differ from the ones associated with the male or female binary. Intersex people are either born with these differences or develop them during childhood. Because of this, they are often coerced or forced to change their bodies through surgeries or hormones. Many surgeries are performed on intersex people as infants.

An estimated 1.7% of people are intersex. There is no exact number or percentage since some people are never diagnosed and tracking this information is not mandatory. In addition, there are debates over whether people with certain conditions are intersex or not since there is no set definition for what intersex includes.

Intersex only refers to a person's sex, so intersex people can be any gender, sexuality, or romantic orientation.

A person who is not intersex is endosex (also called perisex or dyadic).

The intersex flag was created by Morgan Carpenter in July 2013. Intersex Human Rights Australia, of which Carpenter was a part of, wanted a unique symbol that did not come from other flags or use pink or blue (which are generally perceived as gendered).

Each element of the intersex flag was chosen for a specific reason, with quotes from Morgan Carpenter:

• Colors and circle: "don't just avoid referencing gender stereotypes, like the colours pink and blue, they seek to completely avoid use of symbols that have anything to do with gender at all"
• Circle: "unbroken and unornamented, symbolising wholeness and completeness, and our potentialities. We are still fighting for bodily autonomy and genital integrity, and this symbolises the right to be who and how we want to be"

An older intersex flag was created by Natalie Phox on August 11, 2010. It was posted to Wikimedia, but incorrectly labeled as a bigender flag. Due to this mistake, it was unfortunately used as a bigender flag for some time, although the author later corrected their mistake by specifying that they meant bigender as in "mixed sex characteristics, not gender."

Each element of this intersex flag has its own meaning, with quotes from Natalie Phox:

• Pink and blue gradient: "the range of sexes between male and female"
• Lavender: "a combination of male and female traits"

Intersex can fall under this umbrella term:

• Queer

• interACT is an organization that helps intersex people, especially intersex youth, become advocates for themselves and other intersex people. Their website features an FAQ page and many resources.
• OII (Organisation Intersex International) USA provides many resources for intersex people and learning about them.
• TIGERRS' (Transgender, Intersex, Gender-Expansive Revolutionary Resources & Services) "Intersex Resources" has links to many resources for intersex people, including advocacy groups, support groups, and media lists.
• "What It's Like To Be Intersex" from As/Is on YouTube describes being intersex and shares four intersex people's stories.

Sources:

• interACT's "What is intersex?"
• Wikipedia's "Intersex" page
• LGBTQIA+ Fandom Wiki's "Intersex" page
• Morgan Carpenter's "The intersex flag"

Images:

• "Intersex flag" by Morgan Carpenter, SVG file simplification by AnonMoos, licensed under CC0 1.0
• "Early Intersex Flag" by McLennonSon, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0