#and people who are actually altersex/salmacian

[queercripintersex]

To all those questioning if you're intersex

It's valid to call yourself intersex if you have PCOS

It's valid to call yourself intersex if the diagnosis you have isn't on one of the standard lists of intersex diagnoses

It's valid to call yourself intersex if your intersex variation wasn't evident at birth (most aren't!)

It's valid to call yourself intersex if your intersex variation was one where puberty Did Not Go To Plan

It's valid to call yourself intersex if you have totally ordinary genitals

It's valid to call yourself intersex if the only signs that you're intersex show up on lab tests/imaging and otherwise there's no way somebody could tell from looking at you

It's valid to call yourself intersex if you never had any coercive medical interventions

It's valid to call yourself intersex if you identify your sex as male or female (we are not a third sex!)

It's valid to call yourself intersex if you don't look like how white people with your intersex variation look

It's valid to call yourself intersex if you only found out through freak happenstance as an adult

It's valid to call yourself intersex if you think you were misdiagnosed

It's valid to call yourself intersex if no doctor ever told you you're intersex

It's valid to call yourself intersex if your doctor(s) dispute whether your diagnosis counts an intersex condition (it's not up to them!)

It's valid to call yourself intersex if you feel your intersex variation is a health condition

It's valid to call yourself intersex if you don't like the way you look

It's valid to call yourself intersex if you do like the way you look

It's valid to call yourself intersex if you started your questioning as part of a gender journey

It's valid to call yourself intersex if you started questioning to figure out trauma from your youth

It's valid to call yourself intersex if you started questioning to find other people like you

It's valid to call yourself intersex if you started questioning your intersex status just because you wanted to know

FINAL NOTE: you don't need to be 100% certain you're intersex to start finding, following, and getting involved in intersex spaces. People will understand if you're questioning, and it's the best way to find out if the label fits you! <3

[genderkoolaid]

Have you seen the people on Twitter making 50 thousand look Tweet threads about how being altersex “fetishizes” being intersex 😭 God forbid you don’t want a traditional transition

I haven't seen those specifically because I rarely use Twitter but I know what you're talking about lmao

For one it shouldn't matter whether or not someone wants to transition for a fetish. But also the way people think that "no one could possibly want non-traditional genitalia for Good and Pure reasons, it's a curse you most be born with" is good for intersex people. Hell intersex people CAN BE ALTERSEX, especially people who want to return to genitalia they had at birth that was changed against their will as infants. There absolutely are intersexist altersex people but to call an entire group fetishizers for simply having genital dysphoria/euphoria is so unhelpful to intersex people. Like there are far bigger issues than salmacians just existing (also, people can work on unlearning intersexism, whereas these people want salmacians to either stop existing/be dysphoric forever because of their discourse-poisoned idea of what "fetishization" means)

It's also fucked up because I know that a LOT of salmacians felt guilty for years for wanting a salmacians body because it is so heavily sexualized, and the only place they ever saw it was in porn. r/salmacian has a ton of posts from people saying "I thought I was a weird freak for wanting this & that it could only exist in hentai but now I realize it's actually normal and attainable". It's so deeply fucked up to shame people away from transition that could radically improve their life for some bullshit identity politic "activism".

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the idea that non-traditional genitalia is not only natural, but can be desirable to possess, is only good for intersex people. The idea that non-traditional genitalia can ONLY be for people who were born with it is just. stupid. It creates this vibe that it's like, a burden you must carry rather than something you can choose to have or keep because it's normal and can be just as nice as traditional genitalia. Intersex people and altersex people can and should be friends & allies.

[thee-radio-host-is-a-kookaburra]

[ID: A flag that is crossed through the angles with a brown X, with a purple and cyan ring in the center that is split in half to be pink and black. The outside of the flag is split into black and grey. End ID]

Binary Abolitionist

A stance where one aims to abolish every sex and gender binary. This includes male/female, amab/afab, trans/cis, and eventually, binary/abinary. It believes that binaries only aim to divide us and none of the components of the binaries previously listed are truly opposites.

This stance is staunchly in support of intersex individuals, altersex individuals, multigender individuals, tris individuals, and anyone else harmed by binarist ideology. This stance is very against radical feminism and very against antifeminism.

Another key component of this stance is AGABpunk, and this stance believes that AGAB is nothing more than what a doctor said you were once. Binary abolitionists believe AGAB labels are basically useless except for explaining intersex experiences.

This stance is notably pro-bodily autonomy, especially when it comes to gender-affirming care. Binary abolitionists are very in support of top surgery without bottom surgery (and vise versa), genital nullification, salmacian surgeries, altersex surgeries, cis individuals getting gender-affirming care, trans individuals who do not get any sort of gender-affirming care, etc. This also includes being very in support of detransitioners and retransitioners.

Lastly, binary abolitionists call out things like intersexism whenever possible. This includes calling out those who claim to be "transintersex" and correcting intersexist misinformation (eg. people saying animals are "biologically nonbinary" when they are actually intersex, people saying kids never forcibly get sex-reassignment when, in fact, intersex kids do, etc.)

@radiomogai @liom-archive

[hiiragi7]

Why are yiu anti trans intersex dumd dumd terf

I have been over this on my blog. Many, many times. In-depth.

I believe the experiences people are describing are real experiences, however I believe they should use a different term and not "transintersex", as you cannot transition to intersex, that's just... Not what the word intersex means, by definition you need to acquire those characteristics without any controlled external influence in order to fall under the intersex umbrella.

If you do not fit that, it does not mean your experience is not valid, it just means you are not intersex.

There are other terms people have coined, such as salmacian, bigenital, altersex, among others, and I'm sure you could coin your own, non-intersex-related terms as well. People do it all the time.

Also, please do not call me a TERF. This is not accurate to my beliefs or identity, and compares me to my abusers and oppressors. I do not appreciate it.

Aside from being inaccurate, it digs up trauma memories I would rather not think about right now. I am not a TERF.

If you'd look at my blog for more than two seconds, you'd see I'm actually nearly constantly arguing with TERFs who just will not get off my back for my posts about intersex identities. I despise TERFs.

I am a genderqueer intersex transsexual. I am very open about this. I was kicked out of my house by transphobic parents as a child for being transgender/transsexual and was made homeless at 17.

I have been a part of queer spaces, queer community, and queer advocacy for the better part of a decade now. I actively fight for the rights of queer individuals, create resources for others, actively try to get gender-affirming care and clothing for those individuals I know personally, try to keep others in my personal life up-to-date with laws or healthcare changes when it comes up so they stay safe, and always speak out against any kind of hate or discrimination against our community.

I feel you do not grasp the meaning of the words you are calling others and placing traumatized oppressed minorities among the same ranks as oppressors openly identifying with hate groups.

That is extremely bad faith and hurts people. I hope you grow to be a better person and realize you aren't performing queer advocacy, you just sent hatemail to a genderqueer intersex person on tumblr.com.

Learn how to block people instead of making your hatred my problem.

[altersexswagtournament]

i read the link you provided, but i am still a little bit confused about the term altersex. are you able to describe it a little further with some of the character examples you provided in your intro post? if not, that's ok!

more that happy to answer questions! ^_^ although uh, long post warning

basically, when referring to real people, being "altersex" means you desire and/or are working towards having some combination of sex characteristics that dont fall within the bounds of the traditional "male - female" sex binary. from what i understand the term came about from intersex people wanting a way to disambiguate between people who are naturally intersex, versus people who wanted some set of sex characteristics that, if they developped naturally, would be intersex, but arent actually intersex due to being unachieved or achieved thru other means than natural development. intersex people can be altersex too, but it wouldnt be because theyre intersex. an intersex person who's happy with their natural body and retains it as is isnt also altersex. an intersex person who wants to, or moves towards changing their sex to be something other than what they naturally develop while still not being cleanly within the "male - female" binary would additionally be altersex.

an important note is that, for example, a trans woman who goes on feminizing HRT and gets a vaginoplasty with the goal of being as close as possible physically to a cis woman is not typically considered altersex, as the desired outcome is "as close as possible to a binary sex". however the same person getting the same procedures with the intention of approaching but deliberately NOT arriving at a binarily female sex could be labelled as altersex - ultimately it would be up to the person in question to determine if the label fits

some altersex sublabels include: salmacian/bigential, indicating having sex characteristics from multiple sexes, such as having both a penis and a vagina ("futanari" can refer to this as well but is generally avoided due to a connotation of fetishization); angenital, indicating having a lack of sex organs, usually envisioned as giving the crotch a "barbie doll"-like appearance; faunagenital, indicating having genitals that resemble those of a different animal species, such as a penis resembling that of a horse or a dog; and xenogenital, indicating a genital configuration that is somehow "alien" or "nonhuman" - think tentacles, flowers, robotics, screwdrivers. i think faunagenital counts as a type of xenogenital

with fictional characters, you can run into some complications on determining if a character is altersex, as all three of Rose Quartz, Jade Harley and Salmacis.

In Rose Quartz's case, she comes from a race of sexless inorganic computer-like rocks, and she canonically shapeshifts a functioning human vagina and uterus in order to concieve steven. this lands her in the xenogenital (and possibly technically faunagenital) category, as although the vagina and uterus are presumed to be in line with a binary human sex, humans are alien to rose quartz, and as such she is adopting alien genitalia.

in postcanon Jade Harley's case, it is (based on my recollection) revealed in the homestuck epilogues that a side effect of her having been fused with a dog earlier in the canon part of homestuck is that she now has a dog penis, which she is very happy to use. this lands her unambiguously in the faunagenital category. i listed this as an edge case to "disrespectfully contradicting canon" as this all takes place in a part of homestuck that is explicitly said to be noncanon and is part of a storyline where she is portrayed as a sex crazed homewrecker who constantly oversteps others' boundaries, with this being at least implied to be caused by the dog dick

and in Salmacis's case, the story goes that she was a fountain nymph who saw the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, Hermaphroditus, bathing in her spring, and became so jealous of his beauty that she grabbed him and begged the gods to fuse them together so that she would never be apart from him, which the gods apparently obliged. this story is where the term "hermaphrodite" comes from as well as the term "salmacian". in the original story i believe its not quite clear how much salmacis actually wanted them to become a single entity with specifically mixed genitals, but she is included in the salmacian category anyways because i mean cmon, shes the namesake (CW RAPE btw for the next parenthetical) (hermaphroditus btw is not included because 1. hes a minor 2. he never consented to this, he was in fact raped 3. in the aftermath he specifically cried out about how hes an abomination now, so thats about as far from "happily has mixed genitals" as you can get id say)

so yeah i hope that clears some stuff up! feel free to ask any followup questions you might have, im more than happy to answer ^_^

[official-megumin]

I am one of the people who are vehemently against this idea of perisex afab transfem as a label.

But that isn't because I don't get it or that your feelings don't have any merit, just there are so many other labels that can describe this feeling that doesn't place transfemininity as something other than cis femininity.

There is demigirl there is girlflux, girlby

there is also this whole catagory: https://lgbtqia.wiki/wiki/Intrafeminine

All of these encompass the complexity of gender as well as not othering trans women.

Because I get it. I do. I don't want to be mean for no reason or just gatekeep because I throw a hissyfit.

But there is a reason that a lot of trans fems get annoyed at this, and it's because it comes from a situation of not understanding what transfemininity is like, actually about.

And like we as trans women have been forced to create our own subset of womenhood, we didn't get the choice to just be cis fem. Not even me who barely had to transition due to being intersex got a choice. And fuck I might even have everything it takes to classically be considered female except a vulva.

So it is frustrating to then have people, liike you. Who see this femininity and womanhood as inherently different, as something you envy, when it has been forced on us.

It's the same as perisex trans people who are very vocal about wishing they were intersex, you can ask other intersex people about that too, and 9/10 if not like 99/100 will tell you that it is hugely insulting and insensitive. And even then we get it, we get that gender can be immensely suffocating, because again. We are probably the group most viscerally affected by it in the world. Many of us were literally mutilated as children to fit the ideals.

And for that the solution wasn't and isn't to let everyone ID as intersex or as literal intersex slurs. It was to create new labels, like salmacian and altersex. It conveyed the same ideas, but didn't disrespect anyone.

We should and have done that here too. I don't want anyone to be left out, but we need to respect the labels and people who use them that already exist. We just have to

Sorry for dropping all this on you, I get your pain. I do, and I genuinely hope you find a label that you feel comfortable with, and that won't get you attacked by other queer people. Because you deserve to be comfortable in your own identity too, even if I think you're going about it wrong

sorry but if you're afab you do not get to call yourself transfem, that word Means Something

RAHHHHH IM AN AMAB TRANSFEM AND I DONT GIVE A FUUUUUUCK I DON'T CARE RAHHHHHH GET SCARED GET SCARED GET SCARED

[varsex-pride]

(I'm not quite sure I understand altersex. Can you explain?)

Altering means “change or cause to change in character or composition, typically in a comparatively small but significant way”.

Altersex: a catch-all term consisting of alter, meant here as “different” or “another possibility,” and sex, referring to physiological primary and secondary sex characteristics. 

Altersex is meant to be used largely, but not exclusively, for fictional characters, describing body plans that are not found naturally in homo sapiens, or, in the case of real individuals using this as an identifier, those who have a mental body plan/view of their “true” self that has a body that fits under altersex. Altersex can also refer to -possible- sexes that are neither perisex nor intersex, in the cases of those who go through HRT or sexual reassignment surgery of some sort, since those people definitely shouldn’t use intersex.

I see that altersexuality encompasses transsexuality/transsexed as a synonymous, including transgenital (altergenital/transgenitalized), transgonadal (altergonadal) and other types of trans-/alter- sex. But many people use this terminology separated in the sense that they (would) plan on a corporeal transition not found naturally in anthropomorphic species/conditions (sometimes not even in our dimensional reality).

As it is an umbrella term, its spectrum was meant to include bigenital (salmacian), xenogenital, angenital, nullsexed (nullgenital/nullgonadal, actually nullo(sexed) (nullogonadal/nullogenital)) and bodyflux/bodyfluid (also transbodied at some point) (there are more terms not listed, but these were the ones coined before alterssex I guess).

These definitions include examples. Other example is desiring a nonhuman animal genitalia/gonad (animagenital/faunagenital, faunagonadal/animagonadal, faunasex/faunassex, animassex/animasex), such as tentacles in the place of your genitals. Another: wishing alien sexed characteristics and genitals from furry arts.

Nothing prevents sex-questioning people from using altersex to mean they don’t know whether they are intersex or perisex/endosex/dyadic, or intersex people using altersex to describe the mutilations they experienced or that just they aren’t cissex/cissexual (cisgenital/protogenital/protsex/protosex).

[arco-pluris]

Biosex adjective glossary

These biosexual (biological sex) corporeal terms use depathological gender-neutral terminology. Phenotypic sex (Wolffian × Müllerian), gonadal, hormonal and genital sexes. Genotype, sex chromosomes genes in the references.

Wolffian (x): a person having testicles / dominantly testonized from the uterus;

Müllerian (x): a person having ovary / dominantly estradiolized from the uterus.

Eugonadal: people with functional gonads (reproductive cells). Includes hypergonadal (hyperfunctional gonads);

Dysgonadal: dysfunctional gonads. This includes agonadal (no gonads) and hypogonadal. Also known as gonadal agenesis/dysgenesis, dyssex and nullogonadal/asexed (null sex or avaginal/aphallia).

Ambigonadal or Bigonadal (ovotestis/ambisex): ambiguous gonads, with both testicular and ovarian aspects, not necessarily both functionals;

Disex (digenital/digonadal): uterus didelphys or diphallia, double genitalias/gonads, not to be confused with desex/dessex;

Unigonadal or Monogonadal: people with one reproductive system only, ovarian or testicular gonads.

Microgametic (spermatogenic/testi person): someone who produces spermatogenesis, the smaller of a pair of conjugating gametes, motile sperm cell (spermatozoon) or moving form of the haploid cell;

Macrogametic or Megagametic (ovogenic/ovari person): someone producing oogenesis, with ovum (egg cell), the larger of a pair of conjugating gametes in oogamous organisms.

Angenital, nullsex, bigenital/salmacian and xenogenital are altersex terms. The original or actual conditions are often called ambigenital, agenital (vulvotestis/ambiguous and null-genitalia), vulvovaginal and penoscrotal. Testoid ('andro'genic) and (o)estrogenic are the hormones.

Protosex/protsex is the opposite of altersex, perisex/endosex and dyadic/duasex counterpoints of intersex.

So instead of saying people with ovary/vagina and C/AMAB/DMAB body, you can say macrogametic vulvarians and Wolffian corporeality (there are AMAB Müllerians tho).

Resources/references: [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] [x].

[the-one-eyed-seer]

As an intersex individual I want to expand on the issues I have with how the terms work in current discussion.

1) I believe that there is an overlap between transmisogyny and intersexism. This does not change what I’m about to say at all whatsoever, it’s just worth acknowledging that.

2) people can’t stop making assumptions about what people’s bodies are in relation to what their experience is and they can and have bullied intersex people over not fitting neatly into terms which, maybe don’t inherently exclude us, but weren’t really made for us either. I’ve seen people defend this rather snarkily as “oh isn’t that a shame that people just assume things about you”, but like. It still cuts out intersex people from the conversation because y’all are not, in practice, making room for them. I’ve literally seen intersex people bullied off the site and/or out of discourse.

The actual problem people are having is the limitations of the framework these words are built around (not transmisogyny, but the intersexist and exorsexist biases the greater community refuses to unpack).

There’s a greater issue here of intersex people, because they don’t fit default settings, being ostracized for using terms “unconventionally”.

3) This is also an issue with as multigender and nonbinary people being ostracized for trying to describe their relationship with exorsexism in this discourse. Which, for context, even though some people do recognize the utility for intersex people to use unconventional description, they are still sometimes exorsexist, which defeats the point, because if you accept intersex people but not nonbinary or multigender people, then you are essentially demanding a lot of medical information you are not entitled to in order to justify the way that a person just like.. exists. And as much as there are terms we gatekeep, the basic aspects of the identity are not. People are free to be altersex or salmacian for example, it’s literally just the specifics of intersex experience that we don’t want them to claim ownership of if they don’t have it. This also applies to intersex people who don’t share certain experiences with other kinds of intersex people because we’re not a monolith. So the argument that they’re taking things away from us does not make sense.

4) this is not something I can talk about whole lot about except as a Jewish person with a cultural gender, but white people frequently dont leave room for people of color or those with cultural genders to place themselves in this discourse in a way that makes sense for them.

Essentially, the framework existing is far less of a problem than not considering that people of color and intersex people have a different relationship to it than we do, as well as people just forgetting that exorsexism is an entire axis of oppression by itself. Changing the terms for the 50th time won’t fix this issue, and continuing to use them exactly the same obviously won’t either, because the root of it is how these groups are treated by the community.

whats your opinion on the terms TMA and TME?

I've clearly been too reluctant about clearly stating my views on transfeminist topics on this website. I'd say that's a failure on my part, so let's talk about these terms, which I think are Good, Actually.

They're extremely useful for their intended purpose, and I think most criticisms of them are ignoring their purpose as a tool for analysing transmisogyny. They're not identity labels, they're descriptive terms to explain where people are located on an axis of oppression. They do not claim to describe every form of oppression an individual may be subject to, but the specific form of oppression that is transmisogyny. It's an important form of oppression to examine because it has material consequences for, you know, transmisogyny affected people.

It's at best annoying to feel a need to walk on eggshells about the terms. Nuances and edge cases exist in every social dynamic, and every theoretical work needs to be constructed from a starting point that boils it down to a manageable level of detail first. TMA/TME terminology gets extreme amounts of backlash for a perceived lack of nuance which you can easily ascribe to essentially any useful system of categories, and it's clear that the main reason for this is the subject matter.

It's very clear that anyone on this website who dares to talk about transmisogyny is subject to backlash, so I don't blame the women who choose to go for the hardline stance on it. Being nice about transmisogyny generally seems to illicit the same backlash as any work on transmisogyny, i.e. more transmisogyny.

[pride-color-schemes]

Altersex

Altersex: a catch-all term consisting of alter, meant here as "different" or "another possibility," and sex, referring to physiological primary and secondary sex characteristics. Altersex is meant to be used largely, but not exclusively, for fictional characters, describing body plans that are not found naturally in homo sapiens, or, in the case of real individuals using this as an identifier, those who have a mental body plan/view of their "true" self that has a body that fits under altersex. Altersex can also refer to -possible- sexes that are neither perisex nor intersex, in the cases of those who go through HRT or sexual reassignment surgery of some sort, since those people definitely shouldn't use intersex. **slurs and discussion of specific sex characteristics below** This term was coined by and for trans and intersex individuals for these purposes: To address the use of "intersex" when describing people and characters who are not actually intersex, but are not perisex either. This means that either their actual body or their desired body does not conform to either binary sex standard in some way, but is not this way due to any variation of intersex. This can be due to sexual transitioning, being of a fictional/impossible sex, being able to shapeshift to change sex characteristics, or having an "alien" sex that is not found in humans but may be found elsewhere, such as a species that has different sexes from our own. To allow for a nonsexualized, nonslur term for fictional or transitioned sexes, as opposed to describing them as things like "h*rm", "c*ntboy", "d*ckgirl", "f*ta" and the like, as is currently popularized. This is very important, as both of these issues as they currently stand are transphobic and anti-intersex, to say the very least. Altersex does not imply any specific sex characteristics, just as intersex does not; this allows for privacy of the altersex person and avoids reducing individuals to their genitalia. Hopefully, this will greatly reduce fetishization of intersex and trans people in art and fiction, as well as provide a helpful, neutral descriptor for characters and individuals who are altersex. For clarification, altersex is any sex that is not perisex or any variation of intersex. A character with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome would be intersex, not altersex. Altersex individuals/characters are not the way they are due to any variation of intersex! Some altersex individuals/characters may resemble such sex states to some degree, but they are different. Those who have undergone hormonal therapy or surgical procedures that affect their sex characteristics, as well as those with dysphoria of this nature or an internal identity that resembles this would also be altersex. Altersex can describe both a physical body or an internal sex identity, or both! As some cannot get surgery/hormones or have an internal idea of their sex that is not physically possible, these people should still be respected as altersex to reflect their true nature as they see themselves.

This is not a kink term and should not be used as such!

Term coined by: farorenightclaw

[Image: Flag with 5 stripes: mint green, pastel blue, white, lavender, pink. A white triangle is poking out of the white stripe extending to the top of the flag and is taking up about 1/4 the width of the flag].

Full size [Here]

Designed by: @pastelmemer

Color meanings:

Mint green is commonly associated with specific altersex identities, like angenital and salmacian. And also because green represents abundance and growth: abundance of possible body types, and growth as in people who physically transition to "grow" into their true bodies.

Blue represents fluidity, for bodies that have fluid sex characteristics. White represents transcendence, as well as bodies with no sex characteristics. Purple represents the alternative, non-traditional nature of altersex bodies. Reddish pink represents sex characteristics.

Full pride gallery HERE! FAQ and “dictionary” of genders, orientations, and other related terms HERE. Send any questions to Ask-Pride-Color-Schemes!

[verdantmeadows]

I'd like to add on that altersex is actually a more common term, and it can be used by perisex (not intersex) and intersex people alike--it means people who have or want to transition to genitalia/sex characteristics outside the "expected" and "traditional" genitalia. Salmacian specifically refers to people who want mixed/"both" sets of genitalia. Altersex can include intersex people if they want to identify as that, a trans man whose genitalia have changed from T, a perisex person who wants no genitalia, and more. It can also be used to refer to fictional genitalia, such as characters who don't have human genitalia or people who want nonhuman genitalia, which is very common in otherkin and related circles.

Altersex is an umbrella term that can break down into even smaller categories, like xenogenital, which is that nonhuman genitalia. Salmacian can be a type of altersex if someone wants to think of it that way. That's why I love it as a term. Salmacian is restrictive because it can't be used by perisex people who want non-traditional genitalia/sex characteristics that aren't having "both" genitalia (penis and vulva).

And since some people don't get it, no, hermaphrodite isn't a slur when used referring to animals. It's a slur depending on context, like any other word.

Okay so. I see a lot of uninformed people in the intersex tag so here's a little bit of information about being intersex.

We are not 'biologically nonbinary', it's actually fairly rare for us to be assigned X at birth, the majority of us are given an assigned sex.

Intersex is a catch-all for a huge number of variations, so there is no singular 'intersex body', in fact a large number of us do not have ambiguous genitalia.

You cannot transition to become intersex. You can transition to have a mix of sex characteristics. The current most accepted word for this I've seen is Salmacian. Because intersex is an umbrella term for many many variations and conditions, saying this is similar to saying you'd like to transition to being autistic or having EDS.

A lot of us go through medical abuse in childhood, including forced hormone replacement therapy and gender reassignment surgeries, often as infants. I, for example, was forced onto estrogen as a teenager. This is something we are still fighting to make illegal without impacting trans youths access to treatment.

Not every intersex person is trans. Just like everyone else, we can be cis or trans or feel a mix of the two. Some of us are just intersex and aren't interested in further labels.

Being intersex is not really that rare. Most estimates put it about as common as red hair or green eyes. Some estimates even higher.

And finally, because I am genuinely stunned by the amount of people that don't know this. Hermaphrodite is an intersexist slur. You should not be using it if you are not intersex.

That concludes my post. Good faith questions are welcomed, and it's easy to find more information through places like interACT and the (albeit outdated) ISNA website.

[worms-in-my-brain]

Very real as a trans and intersex person who plans to get surgery to be salmacian. And who wants to preserve their genital variation.

Like are you criticising people who want to transition to ‘be intersex’ or are you uncomfortable with genderqueer transitions?

Also imo important to note that people criticising altersex trans people for wanting bodies that some intersex people have is sometimes actually intersexist in that it weirdly seems to paint intersex bodies as undesirable, unwanted, a curse, etc. No, I am actually very happy with my intersex body and if a body like mine is someone’s transition goal, as long as they acknowledge that they can’t actually transition to be intersex or try to speak on intersex issues themselves, I am happy for them!

sometimes you have to be like, is this person bringing up valid concerns about intersex fetishization or are they just uncomfortable with altersex trans people. and to be honest those waters are very muddy.

[nullodyke]

I guess this is where I chime in as an intersex and altersex person. It’s uhhhhhh c’est complique.

So like, most altersex communities I’m a part of have rampant and unchecked intersexism they need to address. There’s a lot of people claiming to be intersex because they had an unconventional surgery. People can be very fetishizing towards folks with ambiguous genitalia particularly. Similar to issues with trans communities, I get a lot of comments that I’m “lucky” to be intersex or that it must have somehow made my transition easier? Which bad news it literally took me like 6 years to access appropriate endocrinological care actually!!! I was basically roughing it on a hormone configuration my body didn’t agree with like that whole time and it was hugely detrimental to my life. Altersex people, please if you see this, its a call to collectively get our shit together.

On the flip I feel like intersex people can be very dismissive or express a lot of undue concern at altersex people. It’s a bit more understandable here though, having an unconventional (I’ll use this to mean intersex or altersex) body configuration can be a very large point of stress or discomfort for intersex people, and I have experienced that it can be challenging to share space with someone who finds euphoria in something you have had difficulty in your life with. But! Some of us are intersex too. It really does hurt when you take altersex identity as a reason to demand someone’s medical history, thats really not better than fakeclaiming. There is some abundance of intersex people with complicated relationships to their sex that seek unconventional surgical responses to their intersexness.

Also also, I’m gonna chime in here to say that angenital people in particular have it particularly rough. A lot of the bigger altersex spaces have significantly more salmacian and amab-v folks, and angenital people can sorta fall through the cracks. A lot of the community is extremely fetishized, or even based out of kinky spaces, and I know that makes a lot of vanilla angenital people really uncomfortable. Yes I know we’re weird and scary and all that, but I’ve heard some really disgusting shit, and we really don’t have a lot of online communities for us so it can be a mite lonely on top of everything else.

Anyway, yeah I could probably write more on this subject, but like, remember to be excellent to each other. These are two communities that could really overcome a lot of their differences to find a lot of solidarity I think.

[image text: okay so ik you cannot transition to intersex and that kind of language is a common form of intersexism among trans people. what about altersex? isnt that like saying you don't fit traditional male or female without being intersexist/acknowledging hrt changes without being intersexist?]

I got this ask, but I didn't feel comfortable publishing it normally because the blog which sent it was posting uncensored self-harm photos.

I don't really see how altersex as a concept has anything to do with "transitioning to intersex". It was coined to avoid using slurs when describing the bodies of fictional characters. Here is a link to the coining post. (Heads up for discussion of genitalia and the usage of several intersexist and transphobic slurs)

I don't really have much to say on altersex as a term. I feel weird about people using it to say it means they're not perisex, because it feels like people are using perisex as if it's a word for sex and not a descriptor meaning non-intersex meant to be used to discuss intersex oppression (and to move away from implying non-intersex people are "normal" as opposed to "abnormal" intersex people).

I don't really think it's doing anything that other words haven't already been doing - a lot of non-intersex people don't fit into white, western, colonialist ideas of M/F, of genitals, of bodies, so on. I may not understand why the term altersex is different from various other words describing this, but I don't really need to. It's not my business. If it helps people, great. I'm happy for them.

People discussing HRT changes or desires for what they want their body to look like or surgeries or so on has never been an issue. The issue comes in using "hermaphroditic" or "intersex" to describe that. If altersex as a word provides people with more language besides intersex or hermaphrodite to use for this experience, that's good. I can't speak on how often misusing intersex language or slurs actually happens in practice within the community, but to me that's less an issue with the word altersex and more an issue of unchecked intersexism in a lot of spaces.

Those are just my thoughts. I'm sure it's more complicated than this, I'm just a random intersex person on the internet.