#igm

[soaplantro]

cw life and things you know how it is

In a (by no means original) stroke of transfeminine faux-pettiness, I have decided to commit to referring to my clitoris as such, particularly for the provocative corollaries - eg, the forcible removal of my "clitoral hood." This reframing highlights subtly enforced gaps in the widespread discursive sexing of human bodies, dichotomies which serve to naturalize and trivialize the harmful consequences of sex assignment when the severity of harm exceeds normal (expected) limits, thereby prohibiting robust explication of popular leftist ideals such as bodily autonomy, equality, sex/gender liberation, and so on.

[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.

[tallerthantale]

A review came out recently on the research of the very much ongoing practice of "sex-normalizing" surgeries on intersex children. The review looks over how various research teams evaluated the outcomes of the practice. Dozens recoded the surgeon's opinion on how aesthetically pleasing the result looked, with no objective guidelines. Zero evaluated the quality of life of the children. Not a single study.

Intersex IGM is still happening worldwide and the people studying how 'successful' it is aren't even bothering to measure quality of life outcomes for the kids. It's that irrelevant to them.

The linked review itself is critical of the research not measuring quality of life, and of the "sex-normalizing" practices broadly.

[antiterf]

Doctors saying that it's best for surgery on intersex people to be done in infancy is not very convincing to someone who had surgery in infancy.

Like, I was told as a teen by my pediatric podiatrist that you can only predict so much on how the surgery will hold up in the future because your body grows and changes.

The surgeon I had was the same one who invented the foot brace that was tried to correct my club foot before surgery.

That brace ^

And I'm pointing that out to show that even an amazing doctor who pushes to make medicine better still couldn't fix clubfoot to where it was like it was never there surgically. There aren't many long term studies on surgically corrected club foot, but here's one of them

For the point of still not fitting a normal foot.

And so lack of flexibility, less sensitivity, scar pain, and not looking "normal" is all sort of standard. Some people have additional surgeries, but I did not. I will, but it's not for correction and instead for OA treatment.

So then I look back to IGM, how much sensitivity matters there, that they're usually purely cosmetic, and going "yeah this should be done in infancy when the body grows and changes, especially in this area during puberty" and its such a leap in logic.

Obviously, they see it as best in childhood because it's only done to make someone fit into the societal norm, but saying it with that urgency seems like they're talking about results regarding the body part itself. My entire childhood current and situation kind of goes against that, along with many others.

[dhddmods]

IGM/ISM, FGM/FSM, & MGM/MSM flags

(Before reading this, we recommend reading and reblogging our intersex guide! It is important to spread awareness and educate about intersex bodies.)

Tw: talks of bodily mutilation.

We decided to make flags for those that have suffered from genital mutilation, reproductive mutilation, or hormone abuse.

The IGM (intersex genital mutilation)/ISM (intersex sex mutilation) flags. Yellow and dark purple represents being born intersex. Black represents violation of consent and negative mental health affects (dysphoria, dysmorphia, depression, etc.) The red intersex symbol with the slash represents the negative affects that came from mutilation (scarring, chronic pain, difficulty urinating, reproductive issues, etc.) Blue, pink, and white are for victims that identify as transgender later in life. Green and light purple are for victims that identify as altersex later in life.

The FGM (female genital mutilation)/FBM (female breast mutilation)/FSM (female sex mutilation) flag.

Dark pink represents being born female. Black represents violation of consent and negative mental health affects (dysphoria, dysmorphia, depression, etc.) The red female symbol with the slash represents the negative affects that came from mutilation (scarring, chronic pain, difficulty urinating, reproductive issues, etc.) Blue, pink, and white are for victims that identify as transgender later in life. Green and purple are for victims that identify as altersex later in life.

The MGM (male genital mutilation)/MSM (male sex mutilation) flag.

Dark blue represents being born male. Black represents violation of consent and negative mental health affects (dysphoria, dysmorphia, depression, etc.) The red male symbol with the slash represents the negative affects that came from mutilation (scarring, chronic pain, difficulty urinating, reproductive issues, etc.) Blue, pink, and white are for victims that identify as transgender later in life. Green and purple are for victims that identify as altersex later in life.

There are millions of people worldwide who have had their anatomy mutilated and violated against their consent, for no medically necessary reason whatsoever. This ongoing issue affects people of all sexes, however it disproportionally affects endosex females and intersex people.

An estimated 230 million AFAB individuals (endosex or intersex) have suffered (and continue to suffer) from genital mutilation worldwide. 144 million in Africa, 80 million in Asia, 6 million in Middle East, and 1-2 million in other parts of the world.

There is very little statistical research showing the accurate number of intersex mutilations that occur (as intersex topics are often hidden and underesearched, due to intersexism), however from country-to-country, it is often shown that anywhere between 40-80% of intersex individuals are operated on while underage (often as infants or during puberty.) Most places in the world DO NOT have proper protective laws against intersex medical abuse. A majority of intersex individuals that you speak to will have experienced genital, reproductive, or hormone "correction" against their consent.

Genital and reproductive mutilation diminishes (or entire rids of) the ability to experience sexual pleasure, and can increase the risk of urinary tract infections, possibly even cause difficulties with urination. In many cases, it causes scarring and numbness or chronic pain. It can also strip away a person's ability to have children.

Hormone abuse forces a person's body to develop in a way that they are incapable of consenting to. Rather than allowing an intersex person to develop the way they prefer, or go onto hormone blockers so that they have time to figure out their desires, caregivers and doctors force upon them whatever "gender" they think "suits them best."

People that suffer from any of these violations are at a much higher risk of developing mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, body dysmorphia, gender dysphoria, sex dysphoria, and fear of sex.

These terrible practices need to stop, and more people need to be aware of it!

[ghxst-system]

ill never get to fully know myself or my body because of what they did

but sure, go ahead and walk all over me because u dont like it when people point out ur intersexism

[intersex-questions]

tw// IGM

Hey, I have a question. Is IGM only done to babies, or can they be done after the child has gotten older?

Also, is it possible for IGM to happen(as a baby) but not be put on their medical book? Like the doctor does the surgery, then writes down that their genitals are male/female.

IGM (intersex genital mutilation) absolutely can and does happen to individuals older than babies. It happens to children, teenagers, and adults. Many individuals undergo "corrective" surgery to their genitalia under the guise of being told it is medically necessary, they'll be infertile otherwise, they can't have sex otherwise, and more.

And yes, that is possible. Although it shouldn't happen, doctors absolutely can and do medical procedures or similar things without listing them or being explicit about what they are. This is medical malpractice, but it does happen. And, often when things like IGM do happen to babies, they don't share the real/true/actual reason behind the mutilation/surgery and instead say it is medically necessary.

[battyhillel]

so not only did i possibly go thru igm, but i may actually have cah like i thought and it was hid from me.

great. (sarcasm)

[icannotgetoverbirds]

i may be biased but i think that dandelions should be symbols of intersexuality

dandelions:

belong in this world

are natural

are good for this world

are beautiful

are whole just as they are

are resilient

have been here for a long-ass time

will be here for a long-ass time

deserve to exist

dandelions are NOT:

unnatural

a new phenomenon

wrong

bad

dangerous

broken

something that needs to be changed

bound by society's ridiculous 'rules' that are based on incorrect, unscientific information

just like intersex people! Plus they're yellow like the intersex flag, so that's a bonus.

The moment you start drawing lines between acceptable and unacceptable for things that cannot be changed, it will inevitably lead you to find yourself on the wrong side of that line. When you draw lines between what bodies are acceptable and what bodies are unacceptable, you will inevitably find yourself placed into the unacceptable box.

Intersex bodies must be accepted as they are, must be held as just as worthy as perisex bodies, both for intersex people's sake and for the sake of human diversity.

These lines are not unlike the lines we draw between 'good' and 'bad' plants. We call plants that we don't want weeds, despite dandelions providing much more practical utility than a rosebush. And where does that leave us? In a world where dandelions are poisoned, uprooted, crushed, killed for the crime of growing wherever there is a place to grow. In a world where rosebushes could easily find themselves given the same treatment the moment they no longer provide value.

And for what? To uphold antiquated and incorrect ideas of the way the world should be, often at the detriment to ourselves and the world we live in? For the aesthetic?

And we do this with human lives, violently 'correcting' the 'flaws' that are perfectly natural through unwanted mutilation and medication.* Doctors do this to children, to literal infants, and it's perfectly legal. I find it telling that, despite its legality, those same doctors and hospitals tend to guard any records they might keep of such procedures, even from the parents and the child in question, quite closely.

Sorry this kinda turned into a rant. I just think the metaphor is really fitting, and I'm pretty passionate about intersex issues (being an intersex person myself), and I really like dandelions.

*There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to adjust one's own body to what they themselves would prefer, regardless of the starting point and/or end goal. In addition, I recognize that certain intersex conditions require medical intervention for survival - that's not what I'm referring to here. What is wrong is forcing people into a false binary and abusing modern medicine to make an unwilling person fit into a box they don't want to be in. This is about autonomy and enthusiastic consent without undue influence.

[masherbrum]

Composite of French IGN, Swiss Swisstopo and Italian IGM topo maps at FR-CH-IT tripoint.

From Skitourenguru. Currently they can only use the Swiss one though, because the French license is just too cryptic and the Italians don't answer their open data request (even though EU law basically requires them to grant permission...).

[prententiousjackal]

10th day of intersex

At what time could someone learn that they or someone else is intersex?

Intersex could hypothetically be known before conception if you genetically engineered or selected for someone as such. But that doesn't (legally) happen in humans and is only allowed for animals.

Intersex conditions could be found during pregnancy with a karyotype test or screening for different intersex related genes. This can lead to the selective abortion and genocide of intersex people. Doctors may exaggerate risks based on their biased schooling serving a perisex-normative standard.

Intersex conditions could be found immediately after birth. These conditions include ambiguous genitals. Again, doctors may exaggerate risks and coerce parents to perform unnecessary genital surgeries that are only for aesthetic purposes. (That's not to say all surgeries are bad. If a child is born without an exit for urine or feces, then some sort of hole being made is necessary.) Parents may then be told to hide all knowledge of the surgery from their child.

Some intersex conditions discovered at birth may call for the child to have repeated medications or repeated appointments to the doctor. Children can be lied to about the nature of their medication or appointments. These children might go until teenage years or adulthood before finding out the truth. Or they could have parents who tell their children about their bodies as their children ask questions, need the information or relevant conversations or situations arise.

Some intersex conditions, like hormonal conditions, go undiscovered until the time of puberty where an absence of puberty or unexpected puberty happens.

Some intersex conditions may go unnoticed until the individual tries to have a child and discovers their intersex condition as the reason for their infertility.

Some intersex conditions go unnoticed until after the individual dies and coroners or forensic scientists discover their condition.

And some conditions are never known at all.

[frankfurtphoto]

Untermainkai, Bahnhofsviertel, 2022

[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)

[battyhillel]

the feeling when u see ur birth records only to see evidence of possible igm…