#Stop IGM

[myheartisonthetrain]

mecore is looking up teleiophilia to see if i can find anything new or any lost TCers and finding out john money coined the umbrella term chronophilia and now i want to burn things i hate that man if anyone remembers the ai chat with sigmund freud i have a similar burning hatred towards him and my research tonight is going to be based on sexologists and why the (albeit outdated and dead) ones i've found so far are really weird and cruel

anyway i hope david reimer rests easy he deserved so much better man :( god

edit: they could never make me hate you magnus hirschfeld

[mxanunnakiraymarquez]

Some People in Power and Control Will Not Stop Regulating Our Intersex Lives as Nonconsenting Children.

My educational thoughts for the day: We have all been taught by colonialism, and people in power and control, to pathologize human diversity. This language mostly comes from people of power who are white, endosex, cisgender, heterosexual men. To this day, people in power and control invent what is “normal” and have judged, pathologized, and diagnosed human diversity. They invented racism, the…

[identitty-dickruption]

hey dyadic people. you do know you're allowed to NOT mention genitals in the notes EVERY single post about being intersex/intersexism, right?

you do not need to bring up genital mutilation when a post is talking about a completely different form of intersexism. you do not need to bring up how fascinating our bodies are when a post is about intersex positivity. you do not need to ask intersex strangers what their genitals are. you do not need to do this shit

please. I am begging you. see intersex people as more than our genitals. see intersex people as more than our medical trauma. obviously genital differences and medical traumas are real parts of the intersex experience, but it cannot be the only context you can ever bring yourself to see us in. see us as real human beings

[aux-squiggle]

STOP CUTTING KIDS

feel free to download and share around

inb4: I know OIIE also recommends raising intersex kids as girls or boys (I don't think any child should be raised as a "gender" and it should be no different between a girl and a boy) and they also recommend taking intersex/difference of sex development out of the ICD which is controversial amongst intersex people.

BUTTTTT OIIE's "supporting your intersex child" pamphlet is EXCELLENT and gives a lot of information on how to protect your child from genital mutilation, especially since doctors like to be sneaky or lie about what they're doing. I'm not intersex and not an expert on how DSD/intersex should be addressed altogether, I just know the unconsensual cutting up of children's bodies is evil and more people need to know how to speak up in case they or someone they know has an intersex child.

inb4 pt 2: before someone comes for my neck for "equating circumcision and FGM" I AM NOT, thank you. I just care about all three categories fo child genital mutilation at the same time. Making the same format posters for the 3 issues doesn't mean I think they are the same, otherwise I would just link to one advocacy group.

[ghxst-system]

TW - This post is vaaaaague as hell but still is about IGM and general abuse of doctors/medical professionals (who should have their licenses fucking revoked)

the journey of:

"oh fuck that thing happened when i was little and i had to go to the doctor"

"OH THAT DOCTOR HURT ME?"

"oh my god it was mutilation"

"IM INTERSEX????"

"WAIT WAIT WAIT THAT WAS IGM????????"

uhhhh this post is mad personal and ive been debating posting it for the sake of our trauma holders but el oh el i dunno i wanna be more able to talk abt it

-Yourself (you/yours , he/it)

[ugly-anarchist]

Literally begging people to stop equating IGM, forced/coerced HRT, and similar acts of violence against intersex bodies with trans people getting gender affirming care

I shouldn't have to tell you that forcing an intersex person to be compliant with the sex binary, their own gender identity be damned, is not a good thing and is not comparable to trans people getting consensual HRT.

[bloomshroomz]

Massive TW for intersex genital mutilation, intersex slurs, and general intersexism.

Today I learned that the Google search results for "ovotestis"/"ovotestes" (an intersex variation in which one is born with gonads which are both testicular and ovarian) largely consists of:

Websites calling it a disorder ("DSD," "disorder of sex development," etc.)

Websites referring to people with ovotestes as "h*rmaphrodites" or "true h*rmaphrodites" (incorrect, outdated, offensive terms)

Images of intersex babies having their genitals operated on. Yes. You read that correctly. Images of babies genitals, being surgically mutilated, and then posted online. These intersex people do not get the opportunity to consent to these surgeries, nor the opportunity to consent to their genitals being put on public display, because (and I cannot stress this enough) they are babies.

These are the first results when looking up information about this intersex variation. And so many of yall will just trust that this is okay because "the medical establishment says so."

The medical establishment has a history of abusing and medicalizing LGBTQIA+ people. For some reason, a bunch of you are able to recognize this abuse and medicalization as wrong, up until it happens to intersex people. Then yall either try to justify it, or deny that this abuse happens at all.

Like, I'm not even intersex, but this pisses me off. Please advocate against these non-consensual surgeries and images. Please stop calling intersex people "h*rmaphrodites" or similar terms. Please learn about IGM.

When you're trying to learn about intersex people, please stop defaulting to trusting the medical establishment when it comes to information about intersex people. Please don't just trust the first results you get on Google. Please put effort in to listen to actual intersex people and advocacy groups instead.

And please, stop using terms like "DSD" to describe intersex people broadly. No, it did not originally stand for "differences of sex development" and it is still commonly used to mean "disorders of sex development."

Some individuals identify as people with DSDs, but this terminology should not be used as an umbrella term for all intersex people. Many medical sources will say things like "DSDs (formerly termed intersex)" or similar wording. This is an attempt by the medical establishment to replace intersex as a term, and many intersex people and organizations reject it.

Intersex people and advocacy groups have been fighting against these practices and terms, yet somehow people still insist that intersex people prefer it this way.

Don't just sit by and shrug and say "I'm not intersex, so I can't say anything about this. It's not my place."

Say something.

[irequirealobotomy]

there is not enough attention on intersex people. like, yeah sure, trans people are getting terrible treatment, eyes should be on them. but can we not shut down intersex people??

their bodies are being altered against their will!! all because they were born not conforming to a stupid narrative. trans kids have it hard, and yes, they suffer the same thing. but intersex people aren’t being denied treatment: they get medical violence forced upon them.

and im saying this as a perisex transgender person. please, please, please push for stopping IGM.

[lycandrophile]

as an intersex woman- it'd be real nice if these people stopped throwing around the word "mutilation" and ignoring IGM (which is still practiced en mass even in "first world" countries) and our lack of bodily autonomy. a trans person (or even a cis person getting elective reconstructive surgery for a myriad of reasons, including IGM) getting bottom surgery is in no way comparable to actual mutilation against your will and it's such a slap in the face to see these people bitch about it while ignoring us. our medical records are literally hidden, destroyed, and altered for the sake of non-intersex people never having to contend with the reality of sex variations.

I bet they'd probably look at the stats on Intersex human rights and try to justify it away though, they sound like the types who want Intersex people to fit into their two perfect sex and gender boxes and never complain! thank you for not backing down, muddying the waters on mutilation- while the intersex community is still trying to fight to get IGM recognized and banned- harms IGM victims worldwide and disgusts me to my core.

Not to mention how many recent american bills banning or limiting elective trans surgeries conveniently still allow for IGM and the pushing of hormones on intersex children and adults who don't need them (again for the comfort of non-intersex people and the assumption we must be "fixed"...) very convenient for these people to ignore!

all of this! these people will act like the “western world” was totally against genital mutilation practices until the big bad trans people came along, when in reality it’s been happening right here at home the whole time.

the only reason they don’t see it (or at least act like they don’t see it) is because of intersexism and racism — intersexism that tells them that whatever’s being done to intersex people must be beneficial and medically sound because of course intersex traits should be “fixed”, and racism that validates their belief that the things happening where they live must be better than what’s happening “over there” because of course there are more human rights abuses happening in non-western places than in their good progressive home.

fearmongering about anything that changes the clitoris or vulva in any way being a form of FGM + downplaying the harms of IGM and saying it’s just good medicine = the perfect way to uphold their precious pseudoscientific sex binary for another day, i guess. as long as we’re all living with the genitals they think we should have, they don’t care who it hurts.

[mxanunnakiraymarquez]

Poem: I am Whole and Unmutilated!

[osokasstuff]

i want to talk about the phrase "cis people are getting gender-affirming care" and underlying assumptions and nuances. and idk how to structure my thoughts on this topic, so i'll just drop some takes and run away.

1) usually when people talk about cis people getting gender-affirming care (and how it's encouraged and not barred), they actually mean intersex people undergoing procedures that make their bodies fit better in perisex expectations of their assigned sex and gender.

1.1) although some intersex people may wish these care, a lot of intersex people are actually forced to undergo it, directly or indirectly when intersex people aren't told about their intersex status and instead are told that they have a disorder and need to undergo these treatment. without actually asking, without proper explanations, without alternatives and anything. also, this so-called "care" may be performed on infants and very young children (igm surgeries, forced hrt) who can't consent at all. and these types of intervention shouldn't be called gender-affirming care for cis people. because gender-affirming care is procedures that bring the body into the line with the person's wishes in a gender-associated sense. and "corrective" procedures performed on intersex people without their consent (consent under pressure also counts as without consent) are the opposite of it. it's conversion therapy. and we should stop mistake conversion therapy for gender-affirming care.

1.2) some people will be surprised, but sometimes intersex people get their assigned sex and gender changed and forced on other types of treatment, if society decides that will be easier. for example, someone may be assigned female, but later in life experience masculinization/more male-associated traits may be revealed, and some of these people will be reassigned male and forced on testosterone hrt/surgeries. this "care" is not gender-affirming, too. it has nothing to do with transition because transition is a consensual act, and this is violence. and if these intersex people want to get gender-affirming care to bring their body back to the first assigned gender? they get denied. they have to fight for it and face transphobia and intersexism. and sometimes they don't get it at all.

1.3) "okay but what about the very specific case when adult intersex person is cis and wishes to get gender-affirming procedures that align with their assigned sex and gender?" it's not easy for them, too. they may be denied for absurd reasons (based on intersexism). a lot of doctors wouldn't listen after "i'm intersex" and refuse to treat the patient. and if any doctor agrees, they may still be unsafe. because doctors may try to force more procedures, or be intersexist, or be incompetent in treating intersex patients, or be in general incompetent. remember how a lot of doctors know zero shit about hrt and gender-affirming surgeries? all of them still know zero shit about it when the patient is cis. and especially know zero shit when the patient is intersex because intersex bodies may work differently, may respond on hormones differently, may look differently, etc tons of medical nuances. i don't know much about this experience because i'm not cis intersex, but i assume there is way more shit.

1.4) some intersex people are cis / identifies with their assigned gender (yes, these experiences need to be separated because some intersex people don't consider themselves cis while identifies with their assigned gender) and still need gender-affirming procedures that aren't typical for their gender (for example, testosterone hrt for an intersex woman). because of health reasons, because of gender reasons, because of any reason. and they have to fight tooth and nails to get it. they get denied in gender clinics, get denied by doctors, get all possible transphobic and intersexist shit. even trans-friendly spaces are not immune to treating intersex people horrible. so it's not easy at all.

2) "okay we understood that intersexism sucks. but what about perisex cis people?" yes, there are cis perisex people who get gender-affirming care. but it doesn't look like it seems.

2.1) there actually are cis perisex people who get gender-affirming care that does not align with their assigned sex and gender! some examples: gender-nonconforming cis people who are cis but still need gender-affirming procedures; cis nonbinary people who need gender-affirming care. and it's not easy for them, too, because they have to face the same transphobia (idk if it may be considered intersexism, and i'm going to write another essay about how intersexism and transphobia are inseparable from each other, so stay with me if you wanna read it /no pressure).

2.3) "okay okay okay fuck you with your untypical cases, but what about cis perisex people who get gender-affirming care that aligns with their gender? can we bitch about them and how their life is easy?" (/joke. sorry for my poor sense of humor). there are some nuances too. i don't have these experiences and have heard not so much about these cases, so take my words with the grain of salt, but let's go.

2.4) another specific case: detrans people. people who have undergone some medical procedures but realized they're cis and need to reverse it. they don't get it easy. detransition is heavily stigmatized both in the general society and queer circles. detrans people have to navigate through transphobic systems and face transphobia, and also get their specific sort of discrimination because they detransition. i don't know much about specific problems, but i'm sure it's not easy.

2.5) and, finally, about cis perisex people who never transitioned and still need gender-affirming procedures that align with expectations from their gender. let's remember how society treats cis women who underwent breast augmentation. not very politely, yes? being a perisex cis person and having "not good enough" sex traits is a way of failing to perform the gender role. so these people get all the shit associated with not performing your gender role properly. even if it's "not their fault" (like they got some organs removed because of cancer), society doesn't give a fuck. it's still a "failure," and there will be the punishment. remember all the jokes about small dicks, not having balls, having small breast, etc etc etc? it's intersexism, yes, but it hurts cis perisex people, too. and it doesn't stop hurt cis perisex people who decide to change it. there's a genre of jokes about implants and whatever. it's still a "failure," even if people "try to make up for it."

3) and the part about "bad doctors know zero shit about gender-affirming procedures" applies to every category.

4) in conclusion, i think there's no demographic that gets gender-affirming care easily. because transphobia, intersexism, and sexism, the causes of barriers to gender-affirming care, don't suddenly finish if you have a correct identity. if someone doesn't have rights, no one has rights. that's why i think we should stop bitch about how other demographic is unaffected by some shit and gets everything easily and continue to find together for bodily autonomy and gender-related rights to everyone.

[identitty-dickruption]

the other thing you lot need to keep in mind is that being intersex isn’t entirely about genitalia, and many intersex people have roughly “normal-looking” genitals

when people talk about our bodies, a lot of the time they’re still using the fetishised version of the intersex body. they’re still thinking of us as having both a fully functioning penis and a fully functioning vagina, and that’s just NOT the case

yes, it’s possible for intersex people to have genital differences, but even then. it’s the least interesting part of my intersex experience. when you choose to just focus on the genitals, you’re forgetting:

the trauma that often happens to those of us with genital differences (e.g. IGM)

the hormonal differences (which can also result in medical trauma, as well as bullying and shame)

the resulting and/or comorbid chronic illnesses that often come about due to being intersex

being intersex is not 100% traumatic or anything. I actually have come to love my intersex body and my intersex community. but for all that is holy. please stop acting like being intersex is just “cool quirky genitals”

[gayhenrycreel]

amatonormativity can only be defeated if society learns that people can have different needs.

most people need sex. i need sex to stay mentally healthy, but not everyone is the same. i also need gluten, but some people get really sick from it. a lot of people need romantic love for emotional fulfillment, which i will never understand and find very strange, but thats okay, because people are different.

ableism is also tied into this. i need things to be explained very clearly, often multiple times, otherwise i dont understand. sometimes im literally unable to process sound enough to understand what people are saying. most people dont need basic sentences explained multiple times to understand, so i have a need that others dont have.

a lot of amatonormativity is similar to ableism. i theorize this is because society views both lack of attraction and disability as biological inferiorities that need "curing". this is why historical queerphobia is extremely ableist. electro conversion therapy is exactly the same thing one of my dead relatives suffered for being mentally ill (note that this form of... well, torture, literally cooks brain cells, eventually having similar effects as a lobotomy).

intersex people are often forced on hrt that makes them sick, because perisex society believes that "normalcy" is what people need.

ive heard of asexuals being forced on libido meds because asexuality is assumed to be a medical condition.

all of these are forms of conversion therapy (if your country has not banned igm, conversion therapy is still legal, sorry).

again with the inherent ableism, i used to have problems with anxiety induced meltdowns, and my psychiatrist assumed it was because of my already treated adhd. he forced me on ritalin, which i already had a record of it not working for me. my adhd meds that work were taken from me and i had to take whats basically mild meth. for 3 days straight, i had a panic attack. singular. it continued for days without stopping. as soon as this started happening my mum took me off ritaln, against that doctors orders. for a week i had no adhd meds, so i microdosed magic mushrooms and my anxiety (and adhd) caused no problems for that whole week.

all of these are medical assumptions, assumptions that a non existent problem needs curing. my adhd was fine. i was treated with a med that had worked since i was 5.

theres a huge similarity between gay men being forced on testosterone to try to make them more masculine, and me being forced on ritalin to treat a medical issue that didn't exist in an attempt to make me normal. (the problem i had was much more about my autism not being accommodated btw).

queerphobia and ableism have been intertwined since western society came up with eugenics.

i dont need to be fixed, i need to be loved instead of treated like a problem. people always think my autism is "worse" when they abuse me, and its just because i cant mask when im scared. it becomes a cycle of me being abused for not masking, and not masking because im scared. in the same way, things like psychosis are made infinitely worse by psych wards. can you imagine having a delusion that the government is hunting you and then actual cops throw you in a cell and drug you? thats reality for many psychotics! it happened to me, and everytime i became more convinced that i was being tracked.

queerness is treated how disabilities are treated, because to the medical system they are the same: disorders, and disorders are inferior.

in both cases people just need to be cared for. we may be totally different, but we have so many similarities in our experiences.

a society that sees us as the same will treat us the same.

[appalachiananarchist]

My immunoglobulins have been on a steady downward trend and I am worried I'll have to stop rituxan in the near future because of it. My IgM is down much lower than before, though IgG is holding steady. Rituxan has given me so much of my life back when little else was working, so the thought of losing it is upsetting. I don't have to worry quite yet, though. I don't think they are low enough to stop my infusion next week. My WBCs are actually pretty good at 3, though my neutrophils and lymphocytes are still down.

I just hate that my condition, if untreated, causes me to have concerningly low white cells/neutropenia The treatment for my condition, which makes those numbers a little better, messes with the Ig levels. There is no way out of this that doesn't involve my immune system taking a hit.

My platelets and RBCs are good though! I've been bruising a lot so I was worried about the platelets, but we're all good. Kidneys are also being troopers as always. Major shout out to my kidneys, which have weathered everything like champs.

[kes-geiszler]

just saw an article about banning intersex genital mutilation (good!!!) as a reason to ban all trans surgeries (bad!!!). IGM is an abhorrent form of taking away bodily autonomy!! and do you know what else is? removing trans peoples ability to get access to gender affirming care. I need transphobes to stop using intersex people as a shield for their transphobia and fascism.

[yourpreciousrose]

Stop IGM

people are more concerned about trans people who give consent than about intersex people who are forced to have our bodies f*cked with.

(do not share on other platforms without my permission)