#hyperandrogenism

[newtscamandersbf]

girl i got snow vision syndrome, tinnitus, i need glasses (u aint ever catching me wearing them tho), low vitamins d and c, low omega-3, low iron, pcos hyperandrogenism, various mental health problems, acne, am trans + gay + aroace spec, neurodivergent, intersex, PICK A STRUGGLE !!!!!!

[satyrradio]

Intersex flag with hyperandrogenism symbol

[ipso-faculty]

Compiling some terms/posts useful for people questioning if intersex

Note: If a definition in is in quotes, the source material it is quoted from is linked to by the relevant term.

Highly relevant terms

Extersex - "[A] term for those who do not know whether they are dyadic or intersex. It could be because one feels as though they might be some form of intersex, but are unable to medically confirm it, or cannot confirm what intersex variation it is. It may also be for those who have a variation that may be considered intersex, but are uncertain if they want to identify as intersex." - @themogaidragon

Inter-Questioning - "a term for anyone who is questioning if they’re intersex, for any reason. (Whether it’s due to one’s physical body, familial experiences that imply one is, or possibly simply a mental feeling that one is intersex.)" - @eldorr

Quoisex - "[An] umbrella term for anyone who doesn't quite understand their sex or doesn't want to define their sex." - LGBTQIA+ Wiki Note: I understand this as more general than extersex, and would include people questioning if altersex. See the wiki entry for subtypes (quoigonadal, quoichest, etc)

Altersex - "An umbrella term to describe having or wanting primary or secondary sex traits/characteristics that do not align with the binary sex model that a significant portion of society has adopted. It is primarily used by those who are not intersex and are trans+ and wish to or transition specifically to have a body that does not fit the aforementioned sex model." -@intersex-questions Note: Being altersex does not make somebody intersex. I include it because many people questioning their intersex status realize this is what they're looking for.

Anisohormonal - "Aniso (unequal/uneven) + hormonal (relating to hormones). An individual who has an imbalance of hormones for any number of reasons. Such individuals may or may not also be intersex." - @sproutflags Note: includes non-intersex variations such as diabetes.

Subtypes of intersex people

Note: In my experience most people questioning if they're intersex have a hormonal intersex variation like PCOS, so I'm skewing towards this accordingly.

Dysgonadal - "[having] dysfunctional gonads. This includes agonadal (no gonads) and hypogonadal. Also known as gonadal agenesis/dysgenesis, dyssex and nullogonadal/asexed (null sex or avaginal/aphallia)." - @arco-pluris Note: contrasted with eugonadal - "people with functional gonads (reproductive cells). Includes hypergonadal (hyperfunctional gonads)"

Interhormonal - "Someone who is intersex and anisohormonal and/or feels that being intersex has impacted their identity as anisohormonal in some way and/or that their identity as anisohormonal has impacted their identity as intersex in some way." - @sproutflags

Intermeer - "a term used to describe all intersex variations that are caused by an overproduction of horomones (testosterone, estrogen, or both.)" - LGBTQIA+ Wiki Variations include: AES, FMPP, PCOS. Part of The Autre System for categorizing intersex variations.

Intermindre - "a term used to describe all intersex variations that are caused by a lack of horomones (testosterone, estrogen, or both.)" Note: The wiki lists AIS and EIS as examples although they are not due to a lack of hormones, but rather a lack of sensitivity to them. Part of The Autre System for categorizing intersex variations. See the wiki for more subtypes. Thank you to anon asker who pointed out the AIS/EIS issue.

Mesosex - "[A] person who has an intersex variation, but one which does not conform to perisex (non-intersex) ideas of what intersex is. For example, people who have intersex traits that are considered "mild", or who have variations such as PCOS Hyperandrogenism and Poland Syndrome." - @ipso-faculty

More intersex terminology

Intersex Terminology Masterpost by @intersexfairy

Edits: - 2023-12-13: corrected AIS mischaracterized as lack of hormones, ty to anon for correction - 2023-12-13: added interdynamic - 2023-12-20: added inter-questioning, thank you @fazbears-horror-attraction for sharing it! - 2023-12-21: removed interdynamic. Apparently "secondary sex" means something entirely different in omegaverse. Ty to anon for correction.

[transfaguette]

the "i'm just a little different for my agab" to "wait I'm intersex" pipeline

[ipsogender]

Mesosex

EDIT 2023-11-23: the term has been revised to:

Mesosex: a person who has an intersex variation, but one which does not conform to perisex (non-intersex) ideas of what intersex is. For example, people who have intersex traits that are considered "mild", or who have variations such as PCOS Hyperandrogenism and Poland Syndrome.

Meso- for middle/in between, to refer to the state of being in between what the intersex community accepts as intersex and what the broader public (mistakenly) thinks intersex is.

More info on why the revision has happened: https://www.tumblr.com/ipso-faculty/734822362966540288?source=share

For archival purposes, this was the original post:

Mesosex: somebody who identifies with intersex people but not as intersex, and also feels perisex does not quite apply to them either. Meso- from Greek mesos (middle), to indicate that one feels in between having the intersex experience and the perisex experience. For example, people with reproductive disorders who feel they have common ground with intersex people but not so much common ground as to feel they are intersex.

There are conditions like PCOS and Poland Syndrome that exist on a spectrum from definitely intersex to perisex-ish, and I hope this term gives people on the perisex-ish side of the spectrum more useful word for themselves than the current language of "intersex-adjacent".

I want to be clear that people with conditions like PCOS and Poland Syndrome are completely entitled to call themselves intersex and that there is broad agreement within the intersex community that anybody with these conditions who feels they are intersex is intersex.

In coining this term I am hoping to validate and connect people who would otherwise call themselves perisex yet not feel it is quite accurate for them.

Mesosex people can have any gender, similar to how intersex people can have any gender.

In designing the flag our goal was to give an impression of something in between the intersex flag and cisperinormative gender colours whilst also including nonbinary people. The salmon background is chosen as a colour that is not quite pink, and the periwinkle ring is chosen for being not quite blue, but still reminiscent of the purple ring of the intersex flag. The white centre, put inside the purple-ish ring, is chosen to reflect how the nonbinary flag has white and purple in its middle.

The term and flag were workshopped with @scifimagpie. I had been thinking for a while that it would be useful to have a term for people who feel in between intersex and perisex, and these recent posts by @queercripintersex on identifying with rather than as not only convinced me there is actually an audience for such a term but also inspired me to get this done! PS. If you are questioning if you are intersex, check out this post by @intersex-support with a big list of intersex media, which you can use to get a sense on whether you resonate with intersex experiences. (Also check out their FAQ! And their past posts! They're really great!)

[overkonsumption]

growing up intersex was weird (especially since i had “normal” genitalia and sexual organs so i had no idea for a WHILE), like my mom got me girls clothes but during puberty they just never fit right bc i had more “masculine” fat distribution and even plus size women’s clothes didn’t fit right, it felt like i was denied the chance to have clothes that made me feel nice (didn’t help that i was poor and plus size clothes need a lot of improvement style-wise anyways)

when i started getting my period it was hell, i usually ended up staying home at least one or two days per month because of how bad the pain was. it got better when i started birth control, but that made my dysphoria worse so i stopped when i started t (WHICH STOPPED MY PERIOD ENTIRELY ON MONTH TWO!!!!!)

anyways remember that intersex ppl are so cool and awesome and even though i don’t have ambiguous internal or external genitalia ppl who do go through way worse stuff!! intersex ppl deserve medical equality and clothes that fit and periods that don’t make us throw up from pain and so much love

[isobug]

Unified Hyperandrogenism flag

This is part of a larger series of Intersex Hyperhormonal and Hypohormonal flags, but I wanted to create a unified Hyperandrogenism flag first!

The first one used pink as the top stripe, while this second alternative flag used a blue stripe ( for those with more masculine identities. )

Mine uses purple because it's a color which is a combination of pink and red while also being distinct. It can include those with all identities- even those who are not Masc / Fem! Purple is also present on the most commonly used Intersex flag ( made by Morgan Carpenter ) so I thought it was very fitting!

My hope it that this can be a flag which everyone with Hyperandrogenism can be comfortable using as an umbrella symbol- regardless of your personal relationship to Masculinity / Femininity or identity!

I've remade the symbol because I couldn't find a super high quality image of the previous symbol and I was a little worried about copyright. This one is made with totally free components from Wikimedia! Here's the transparent version:

Everything in this post is free for use anywhere by anyone! All I ask is that perisex folk please be respectful.

Taglist - @radiomogai, @revenant-coining, @interarchive

[genderqueerdykes]

hyperandrogensim fucking me up!!! Pain party 🎉

i'm soooo sorry that you experience pain due to your hyperandrogenism- i'm not sure if any of my pain could be linked to it, but i know that it does make menstrual periods (when I have them) extremely painful and uncomfortable. hormonal imbalances can be tough on anyone, our hormones regulate and impact so many different systems in our bodies- i hope you're able to find relief for that, if you have any questions or would just like to talk about it, feel free to message me!

take care of yourself for now

[r0o0se]

So, let's explain all this once and for all.

Who is Imane Khelif?

Imane Khelif is an Algerian boxer born on May 2, 1999 in Sougueur (wilaya (= department) of Tiaret.

Why do we say that Imane Khelif is a man?

This rumor began to arise because of the Italian boxer Angelina Carini who abandoned her match with Imane Khelif 46 seconds after the start of the match.

Italian newspapers also supported this rumor, which gave rise to a wave of hatred and transphobia.

What is Imane Khelif's real gender and what is her illness?

Imane Khelif suffers from hyperandrogenism.

What is hyperandrogenism?

By hyperandrogenism, we mean a particularly high level of testosterone in the blood, a steroid hormone often called male hormone, because it participates in the development of the male phenotype. Hyperandrogenism affects 5 to 10% of women of childbearing age. It is usually diagnosed in late adolescence through a medical evaluation that consists of a pelvic exam, observation of external symptoms, and a blood test measuring androgen levels.

Hyperandrogenism can also affect men but the symptoms are often more negligible in them.

And even if she was an transwoman, you got nothing on her to insult her. Plus, in Algeria, being trans is condamned.

CONCLUSION

Imane Khelif is a woman affected by hyperandrogenism, she’s not intersexual or whatever you call her.

Hope this helps ! 💪💪🏻💪🏼💪🏽💪🏾💪🏿🕊️🇩🇿

[menacewithawolfcut]

so, i think i might be aro-spec, actually… and I’m not exactly sure what to do with this information, but the more i question things about myself, analyse my past and deep dive into the topic, the more sense it actually makes

[newtscamandersbf]

tboys w hyperandrogenism wya make some noise 🗣️🗣️

[satyrradio]

Remake of my old hyperandrogenism flag using @isobug's symbol bc i like it a lot

[ipso-faculty]

Mesosex: A Revised Definition

Mesosex: a person who has an intersex variation, but one which does not conform to perisex (non-intersex) ideas of what intersex is. For example, people who have intersex traits that are considered "mild", or who have variations such as PCOS Hyperandrogenism and Poland Syndrome.

Meso- for middle/in between, to refer to the state of being in between what the intersex community accepts as intersex and what the broader public (mistakenly) thinks intersex is.

This is a revision to the initial definition for the term, which I originally coined a few months back. The revised definition comes from many conversations with both identifying-as-intersex people and identifying-as-mesosex people.

In particular I'd like to highlight this long (but very productive) thread from which the revised definition was first proposed by @queercripintersex

From that thread and private conversations some key takeaways have been:

There was too much ambiguity in the initial definition.

The people I've spoken to for whom mesosex has resonated all either have intersex variations, or very good reasons to question that they could be intersex.

And a lot of those people have faced harassment and invalidation by perisex people for experimenting and/or claiming the intersex label. They have expressed a desire for alternate language by which they can communicate their relationship to being intersex.

Not everybody with an intersex variation wants to use the term intersex, or to only use it contextually. Some feel they aren't "intersex enough", even people with variations like Klinefelter's or CAIS that are widely accepted as intersex.

For people who are new to thinking of themselves as intersex, it is valuable to have a microlabel available that can capture their impostor syndrome.

There is a real and legitimate concern that the initial definition of mesosex would lead people with intersex variations like PCOS to think of themselves as neither intersex nor perisex, even though the intersex community is unanimous that PCOS hyperandrogenism is intersex.

Although there is a clear hierarchy of which intersex variations are seen as more legitimately intersex by perisex people, if we validate this hierarchy then we undermine our collective need for pan-intersex solidarity.

I hope that redefining the term reduces rather than adds confusion! And that it's useful for people! Feedback is welcome. 💜

[queercripintersex]

I’ve seen people discuss that PCOS is possibly an intersex condition. I can’t seem to get a straight answer from google, so I think it’s like a “some doctors say yes, some say no” situation. I’m not 100% sure what I think about it, but I want to know if I can interact with your polls as someone with PCOS? If not, that’s totally understandable!

All forms of hyperandrogenism are intersex. That includes hyperandrogenism attributed to PCOS. If you have hyperandrogen PCOS and feel intersex applies to you, try on the label and see if it fits you. Hang out in intersex spaces and get to know other intersex people. <3

Not everybody with PCOS has hyperandrogenism. There's some legit ambiguity about where the people with PCOS who don't have hyperandrogenism fall. (Personally: what matters is participating in the intersex community and seeing if the label sticks upon immersion, not any given diagnosis.)

I wanna point out that doctors have a terrible track record on speaking about intersex people and have a very long history of failing to listen to actually intersex people.

Who is and isn't intersex is a question for the intersex community, not doctors. And we intersex people are unanimous that PCOS counts as an intersex variation. Lest you think this is some weird tumblr phenomenon, InterAct includes it in their list of intersex variations.

In every intersex community I've followed I've seen the PCOS question come up again and again and intersex people are consistent that it counts.

The only people who don't want PCOS to count are anti-trans people who can't stand the idea of sex variation being common, and doctors who think they know better than intersex people (including intersex doctors).

I hope that helps understand the situation! If you want to learn more about PCOS as intersex, intersex-support has answered a lot of asks on the topic. <3

[genderstarbucks]

Hyperandrotransman is a term for when ones transmanhood is affected by hyperandrogenism.

Hyperestrotransman is a term for when ones transmanhood is affected by hyperestrogenism.

Hyperandrotranswoman is a term for when ones transwomanhood is affected by hyperandrogenism.

Hyperestrotranswoman is a term for when ones transwomanhood is affected by hyperestrogenism.

Hyperandrotransboy is a term for when ones transboyhood is affected by hyperandrogenism.

Hyperestrotransboy is a term for when ones transboyhood is affected by hyperestrogenism.

Hyperandrotransgirl is a term for when ones transgirlhood is affected by hyperandrogenism.

Hyperestrotransgirl is a term for when ones transgirlhood is affected by hyperestrogenism.

[ipsogender]

The Social Model of Intersex

I recently wrote up an explanation of the social model of intersex and here I'm gonna take what I wrote the other day and expand on it.

Exposition: Some Disability 101

The social model of intersex is based on the social model of disability so first we need to know that terminology:

The medical model of disability views disability as something inherently disordered, requiring treatment/cure.

In contrast, the social model of disability sees that what is disabling about a disability is how society treats disabled people. There aren’t ramps and elevators for wheelchair users. There aren’t enough people who know signed languages or Braille. Videos don't come with quality captions and audio description. Etc.

(image from here)

The Medical and Social Models of Intersex

The medical model of intersex is analogous to the medical model of disability. Being intersex is seen as disorder that needs to be cured. The terms disorder and difference of sexual development (DSD) are sometimes used by people who think of intersex this way. This is the dominant model that most people in Western society use to think about intersex, and similar to how the disability rights movement is resistant to the medical model, intersex people as a community want our medical model to lose its dominance.

The social model of intersex is similarly analogous to the social model of disability. It sees intersex variations as natural bodily variations. What sucks about being intersex is the intersexism - the stigma, discrimination, isolation, and shame that surrounds being intersex; the fetishization of intersex bodies (usually ambiguous genitals); the medical violence/trauma that comes from being coerced into gender-conforming treatments; and so on.

Authority and Gatekeeping

The two models have different epistemic implications, i.e, whose knowledge is important and valid. The medical model places (perisex) doctors and biologists as the authorities on intersex. Being intersex is a result of medical diagnosis, and doctors are the gatekeepers.

The social model places actually intersex people as authoritative, and what emerges from intersex communities is less emphasis on diagnosis and more emphasis on how your bodily variations have affected your life experiences.

And once you get people talking about life experiences and failing to meet a perinormative standard, it becomes apparent that common diagnoses like PCOS and gynecomastia are frequently associated with the same sorts of life experiences that people with diagnoses that everybody agrees are intersex.

For intersex people, having intersex be a big tent is an advantage. We suffer from isolation so terribly. Having more people in the community helps break that isolation. And having more community means more ability to mobilize against harmful practices like IGM.

Edit to add: the social/experiential aspect of being intersex is one of many reasons why intersex people react negatively to non-binary people saying they want to "transition to intersex".

The Futures We Want

For social model folks like me, the ideal future is that intersex people are accepted, respected, given considerate medical care that respects bodily autonomy, and given access to safe and inclusive community.

In contrast, medicalists think the ideal future is that there are no intersex people, because we have all been “cured”.

This is part of why so few intersex people find out their diagnosis is an intersex variation from their doctor (if they're even lucky enough to get and be told their diagnosis). This contributes to why so many intersex people don't figure out we're intersex until adulthood. Giving patients a label to help find social support and organize politically for better conditions just isn’t something in the mental toolkit of somebody who is stuck in the medical model.

Where The TERFs Come In

The medical model encourages the intersex community to stay fractured into different diagnoses, and to view us as rare anomalies.

This is why TERFS and other transphobes love the medical model of intersex. They cannot handle the idea of intersex being common. They need it to be rare so they peddle their narrative that biological sex is simple.

Even though the biology is clear that sex is really complicated and there is no clear line between male and female, and a whole bunch of middle ground, the anti-trans lobby isn't willing to listen.

To them, there is no middle ground. There is instead two separate categories - male and female - and with each categories you have a tiny subset of "disordered males" and "disordered females".

This is why we see anti-trans posters trying to sow doubt about POCS as intersex. PCOS is common. It affects primarily women. And recognizing hyperandrogenism PCOS as intersex is a direct threat to their messaging about sex and gender.

Summary

The medical model contributes to so much of the intersexism that intersex people face, notably from the anti-trans lobby and from doctors. We suffer from seen as being broken/disordered, from coercive medical interventions, and from the isolation that comes from being told you're uniquely broken. The social model allows actually intersex people to be seen as the authorities on intersex; and for us to find community, healing, and political power.